Osmaniye Korkut Ata University Journal of Health Sciences - OKU JHS is a peer-reviewed academic journal that aims to publish high-quality, original, ethically conducted, and open-access scientific studies in the field of health sciences. The publication processes of the journal are conducted in accordance with the principles of scientific impartiality, transparency, confidentiality, editorial independence, academic integrity, and publication ethics.
All manuscripts submitted to the journal are expected to comply with national and international standards of publication ethics. Authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial board members are responsible for adhering to ethical principles throughout the publication process. In cases of suspected publication misconduct, the journal follows the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics - COPE.
Publication Policy
OKU JHS is a peer-reviewed, open-access, and periodical academic journal that accepts manuscripts in Turkish and English. The journal is planned to be published twice a year, in June and December. Special issues may be published when deemed appropriate by the editorial board.
The journal considers original research articles, reviews, systematic reviews/meta-analyses, case reports, short reports/technical notes, editorials, and invited articles.
Manuscripts submitted to the journal are first subjected to editorial preliminary evaluation and similarity check. Manuscripts that are found suitable for the aim and scope of the journal are evaluated by at least two field experts through a double-blind peer-review process. The peer-review process is conducted in accordance with the principles of scientific impartiality, confidentiality, and editorial independence.
Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are original, have not been previously published, and are not under consideration by another journal.
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the data, the appropriateness of the scientific methods, ethical approval/informed consent procedures, and proper citation of sources.
For studies involving human participants, ethics committee approval must be obtained, and the name of the ethics committee, approval date, and approval number must be stated in the manuscript. Informed consent should be obtained from participants where necessary.
Studies involving animals, clinical research, surveys, scale studies, or personal data must comply with relevant ethical principles and legal regulations.
Authors must clearly declare any conflicts of interest, funding support, author contributions, and acknowledgements. If there is no conflict of interest, this should also be stated.
Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for conducting the editorial and peer-review processes in accordance with the principles of scientific impartiality, confidentiality, transparency, and editorial independence.
Editors do not discriminate against authors on the basis of gender, academic title, institutional affiliation, ethnicity, religion, political opinion, or personal characteristics. Editorial decisions are based solely on the scientific quality, originality, methodology, ethical compliance, and relevance of the manuscript to the aim and scope of the journal.
Editors consider reviewer expertise, impartiality, and potential conflicts of interest when assigning reviewers. In cases of suspected ethical misconduct, editors initiate the necessary investigation and act in accordance with COPE principles.
Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts confidentially, impartially, and according to scientific criteria.
Reviewers should inform the editor and withdraw from the review process if they identify any potential conflict of interest regarding the manuscript.
Reviewer reports should be constructive, well-reasoned, and written in an academic tone. Personal, offensive, or unsupported statements should be avoided.
Similarity, Plagiarism, and Publication Misconduct
Submitted manuscripts may be screened for similarity. Plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, lack of proper citation, absence of required ethical approval, and concealment of conflicts of interest are considered forms of publication misconduct.
Manuscripts suspected of ethical misconduct may be rejected. If an ethical violation is detected after publication, the journal may initiate correction, retraction, notification to readers, and reporting to relevant institutions when necessary.
Open Access and License Policy
OKU JHS adopts an open-access policy. All articles published in the journal are freely accessible.
No fees are charged to authors or readers for manuscript submission, evaluation, acceptance, publication, or access. The journal operates under a diamond open-access publishing model.
Articles published in the journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License - CC BY-NC 4.0, in accordance with the decision of the institution and the editorial board.
Copyright Policy
Authors bear the scientific and ethical responsibility for their published work. The content of published articles is the responsibility of the authors.
Articles published in the journal may be used for scientific and educational purposes provided that proper citation is given. Commercial use is subject to the terms of the relevant license.
Complaints, Appeals, Corrections, and Retractions
Authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders may submit complaints or appeals regarding the publication process to the editorial office. Complaints and appeals are evaluated objectively, transparently, and in a recordable manner.
If an error, omission, or ethical issue is identified in a published article, correction, retraction, or editorial notice procedures may be initiated. COPE principles are taken into consideration in these processes.
Protection of Personal Data
Manuscripts submitted to the journal must respect the protection of personal data. Information that may directly or indirectly reveal the identity of participants should not be published without the necessary permissions.
The journal uses personal information of authors, reviewers, and readers only for scientific publishing processes and does not share such information with third parties for purposes outside the publication process.