Policies

The policies below apply to all content published in the Journal of Medicine, Humanity and Media (JMHM) since its first issue in 2023.

Open Access Policy

JMHM is a fully open access journal. All articles are freely available online immediately upon publication, without subscription, registration, or embargo. Readers may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of any article, or use it for any other lawful purpose, without seeking prior permission from the publisher or the author, subject only to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license under which every article is published.

Authors retain copyright of their work (see Copyright and Licensing). No article has ever been available on a subscription or paywalled basis, and there is no embargo period. All content since the first issue in 2023 is open access under CC BY 4.0.

Repository Policy

JMHM encourages authors to deposit their work in institutional or subject repositories, on personal or institutional websites, and on preprint servers, at any stage of publication and without embargo:

  • Submitted version (preprint): may be deposited at any time, including before or during peer review.
  • Accepted manuscript (author's accepted version, after peer review): may be deposited immediately upon acceptance.
  • Published version (version of record, publisher's PDF): may be deposited immediately upon publication.

Deposited copies should acknowledge JMHM as the place of publication and, once available, cite the version of record with its DOI. Because all articles are published under CC BY 4.0, no permission from the journal is needed for any of these deposits.

Article copyright

Authors retain copyright of articles published in JMHM without restriction. As a condition of publication, authors grant JMHM a non-exclusive right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Under CC BY 4.0, anyone may share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) an article for any purpose, including commercially, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors and to the original publication in JMHM, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated. No additional restrictions are applied.

Authors may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work (for example, posting it to an institutional repository or publishing it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Each article page displays the copyright holder(s) and the license: "Copyright © [year] [author names]. This article is published by the Journal of Medicine, Humanity and Media under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." All articles published since the journal's first issue in 2023 are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Third parties who wish to use an article in a way not covered by CC BY 4.0 should contact the authors directly.

Website copyright

Separately from the published articles, the design, layout, graphics and non-article text of the JMHM website are the property of the journal and its publisher. Brief quotation for academic or journalistic purposes and links to website pages are welcome; other reproduction of website materials requires written permission.

Publication Ethics and Editorial Policies

The JMHM is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. Our policies align with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and guidelines to ensure responsible scholarly publishing.

1. Authorship and Author Contributions Policy

Authorship Criteria All listed authors must meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship:

  • Substantial contributions to conception, design, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content
  • Final approval of the version to be published
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Author Contributions Statement Authors are encouraged to include an author contributions statement describing each author's role, for example using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT). Changes to authorship after submission require written consent from all authors and a justification.

2. Complaints and Appeals Process

Editorial Decision Appeals Authors may appeal editorial decisions within 30 days of notification by submitting:

  • Formal written appeal with detailed justification
  • Point-by-point response to reviewer concerns
  • Additional evidence supporting their position

Appeals are reviewed by independent editorial board members not involved in the original decision. The appeal process is confidential and decisions are final.

Complaint Procedures JMHM investigates all complaints regarding editorial processes, peer review, or published content. Complaints should be submitted in writing to the Editors-in-Chief with specific details and supporting evidence. All complaints receive acknowledgment within 5 business days and investigation within 30 days.

3. Research Misconduct Allegations

Definition of Misconduct Research misconduct includes but is not limited to:

  • Plagiarism (unauthorized use of ideas, processes, results, or words)
  • Data fabrication or falsification
  • Duplicate publication
  • Citation manipulation
  • Image manipulation
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest

Investigation Process When misconduct allegations arise, JMHM follows COPE guidelines:

  1. Prompt initial assessment by the Editors-in-Chief
  2. Formal investigation involving authors' institutions when necessary
  3. Appropriate sanctions including correction, retraction, or editorial expression of concern
  4. Notification to relevant databases and indexing services

4. Conflicts of Interest Policy

Author Disclosure Requirements All authors must disclose:

  • Financial relationships with entities that could influence the work
  • Professional relationships that may represent conflicts
  • Personal relationships that could affect objectivity
  • Institutional conflicts of interest

Editorial Conflicts of Interest Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest. In particular, editorial board members who have mentored, supervised, collaborated on, or otherwise contributed to a submitted manuscript will not participate in the selection of reviewers, peer review, editorial evaluation, or publication decision for the same manuscript. Such submissions are handled independently by an editor with no conflict of interest and undergo the same peer-review standards and editorial criteria as other submissions.

Reviewer Conflicts of Interest Reviewers are selected on the basis of relevant expertise and independence from the authors and their mentors. Reviewers must decline invitations when conflicts exist and disclose any potential conflicts to the editorial office.

5. Data Sharing and Reproducibility Policy

Data Availability Authors are encouraged to include a data availability statement specifying:

  • Where data supporting conclusions are available
  • Any restrictions on data access
  • Contact information for data requests
  • Repository information for publicly available datasets

Reproducibility Standards JMHM encourages submission of:

  • Detailed methodology sections enabling replication
  • Statistical analysis code when applicable
  • Supplementary materials supporting reproducibility
  • Pre-registration of study protocols when appropriate

6. Ethical Oversight Policy

Institutional Review Board Approval Research involving human subjects must include:

  • IRB/Ethics committee approval documentation
  • Informed consent procedures
  • Patient privacy protection measures
  • Compliance with relevant regulations (Declaration of Helsinki, etc.)

Animal Research Ethics Studies involving animals must demonstrate compliance with institutional animal care guidelines and relevant regulations.

7. Intellectual Property Policy

Copyright and Permissions Authors must:

  • Obtain necessary permissions for copyrighted materials
  • Provide proper attribution for all sources
  • Ensure originality of submitted work
  • Respect intellectual property rights of others

Open Access Compliance All content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, ensuring broad access while protecting author rights (see Copyright and Licensing).

8. Post-Publication Discussion

Readers who wish to comment on a published article may write to the editorial office at info@mhmjournal.net. Substantive correspondence may be considered for publication as a letter to the editor, and authors are given the opportunity to respond.

9. Corrections and Retractions Policy

Correction Types

  • Erratum: Minor errors not affecting conclusions
  • Corrigendum: More significant errors requiring formal correction
  • Retraction: Complete withdrawal for serious misconduct or major errors

Retraction Procedures Retractions follow COPE guidelines and include:

  • Clear retraction notices linked to original articles
  • Detailed explanations of retraction reasons
  • Notification to indexing databases
  • Permanent archival of retracted content with clear markings

Editorial Expression of Concern Used when evidence of misconduct exists but investigation is ongoing or inconclusive.

Integrity Commitment

JMHM's editorial team and publisher are committed to upholding scholarly integrity through rigorous peer review, transparent policies, and adherence to international best practices. We actively monitor for misconduct and work closely with institutions and relevant authorities to address ethical violations promptly and appropriately.

All policies are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect evolving best practices in scholarly publishing ethics.

Article Processing Charge (APC)

JMHM charges an article processing charge (APC) of 800 CAD (approximately 570 USD or 4,300 CNY; indicative, subject to exchange rates and bank settlement) for each accepted article, to support open access publishing. The APC covers peer-review management, professional editing and formatting, DOI registration, digital platform maintenance, and long-term archiving.

Student waiver. Master's or doctoral candidates who are the first author of an accepted article receive a 50% waiver (400 CAD) upon submission of valid student certification.

No other charges. There are no submission, page, colour, or withdrawal fees.

Payment. APC details and waiver eligibility are communicated by email upon formal acceptance. Payment is due within 30 days of notification, and a formal receipt is issued on payment.

APC payment is never a factor in editorial decisions. JMHM follows COPE and OASPA guidance on transparency in publication charges.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Digital Preservation

JMHM preserves its published content through the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), a distributed dark archive operated by the Public Knowledge Project using LOCKSS technology. The network holds copies of every published issue and makes them available should the journal cease publication or its website become unavailable.

Advertising Policy

JMHM does not currently accept advertising. No advertisements, sponsored content, or paid placements appear on the journal website or in published issues. Should the journal decide to accept advertising in the future, an advertising policy will be published on this page before any advertisement appears.

Ownership and Management

JMHM is owned and published by ELC Academy Ltd., a company registered in British Columbia, Canada.

Publisher address: ELC Academy Ltd., 6761 Woodvale Crescent, Burnaby, BC V5B 2R6, Canada
Publisher contact: info@mhmjournal.net

The journal is managed by its Editorial Board. The journal is funded by article processing charges and by support from the publisher; it receives no advertising revenue.

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