1. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
The Journal of Health, Care, and Rehabilitation adheres to the principles of publication ethics, scientific integrity, and research ethics. In this context, the editorial and publication processes carried out in the Journal of Health Care and Rehabilitation are conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors are advised to read these rules. Editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality, originality, and methodological adequacy of the work; they are independent of financial, institutional, or commercial influences.
2. Roles and Responsibilities of the Editor and Associate Editors
The editor and editorial board are responsible for the publication of articles submitted to the Journal of Health Care and Rehabilitation and the subsequent processes. The editor and editorial board should act impartially and in the scientific interest when making decisions about articles. The editor and editorial board must ensure that accepted articles are evaluated by experts in the field. The editor and editorial board must follow journal policies such as blind peer review, the evaluation process, ethical principles, and the publication process.
Confidentiality: Editors keep information about articles in the submission process confidential; they use this information solely for editorial evaluation purposes.
Conflict of interest: Editors withdraw from handling manuscripts where there is any conflict of interest; the process is managed by an independent editor.
Prevention of malpractice: Editors investigate and take necessary editorial action in accordance with COPE guidelines in cases of plagiarism, fabrication/falsification of data, duplication (double publication), salami slicing, inappropriate authorship, ghost reviewing, and lack of an ethics committee.
3. Reviewer Responsibilities
Reviewers are required to keep information about the manuscript confidential. Reviewers notify the Journal of Health Care and Rehabilitation about any conflict of interest. While reviewing manuscripts, reviewers should use an academic and constructive language and avoid personal comments that include insults. Reviewers should submit their opinions about the manuscripts they agree to review to the editor and the editorial board within the given time. Reviewers should inform the editorial office if they notice any clear problem or suspicion regarding ethics committee/informed consent information, study design, or data integrity.
4. Author Responsibilities
Articles submitted to the Journal of Health Care and Rehabilitation for publication must not have been published in another journal or submitted to another journal for publication at the same time. If the article contains quotations, tables, or figures that have been previously published in books or journals, authors must obtain written permission from the copyright holder and authors of the relevant text, table, or figure, submit the permission letter along with the article, and indicate this in the article. Authors are responsible for the scientific content and ethical compliance of their articles. Only authors who have contributed to the article should be listed.
Authorship criteria: Authorship is limited to individuals who have made a meaningful scientific contribution to the work; practices such as “gift authorship” and “ghost authorship” are not accepted.
Author changes: Requests for changes to author order, adding or removing authors after submission are processed with a reasoned request, written consent from all authors, and editor review (in accordance with COPE/ICMJE principles).
Authors must cite the sources they used during article writing in accordance with ethical principles.
5. Ethics Committee Approval, the Declaration of Helsinki, and Participant Rights
The journal accepts articles that have received ethics committee approval and comply with the Helsinki Declaration. Ethics committee approval must be indicated in the methods section of the article by stating the name of the ethics committee, the date of the decision, and the decision number. In studies involving human participants, informed consent must be obtained where necessary; personal data and privacy must be protected, and data must be anonymized when required. No ethics committee approval document is required for reviews.
6. Similarity Screening, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication
Similarity reports must be documented using the iThenticate (https://www.ithenticate.com/) program. If plagiarism, improper citation, duplicate publication, data fabrication/falsification, or similar ethical violations are identified, editorial action is taken; when necessary, rejection, correction, retraction, or an expression of concern procedures are applied.
7. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure
Authors are required to disclose all relationships related to the study that may create funding, sponsorship, or conflicts of interest. Reviewers and editors are also required to disclose potential conflicts of interest. In cases where there is a conflict of interest, the evaluation process is carried out independently.
8. Data Transparency, Raw Data, and Research Integrity
When requested, authors should provide information and raw data related to manuscripts under evaluation to the editor and the editorial board. Requests for sharing raw data are handled by considering participant confidentiality, anonymization, and applicable legal regulations.
9. Complaints, Appeals, and Reporting Ethical Concerns
Authors, reviewers, or readers may submit their complaints/appeals regarding editorial processes or report possible ethical violations to the journal’s editorial office. The journal reviews these submissions in an impartial manner and, when necessary, follows COPE guidelines in handling the process.
10. Correction, Retraction, and Expression of Concern
If an error, an ethical violation, or a serious concern related to research integrity is identified in a published article, the journal may publish a correction, retraction, or an expression of concern, depending on the nature of the case.
11. Archiving and Continuity of Access
If this journal is no longer published on DergiPark, electronic backups of each article can be accessed at https://www.rehabilitasyonhemsireleri.com/ for electronic backup and protection of access to the journal content.