Health Focus Journal (HF) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal follows ethical principles and good publication practices to ensure the quality, transparency, and integrity of all published articles. This Publication Ethics statement applies to authors, editors, reviewers, and the journal management.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts are original, scientifically sound, and have not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Authors must:

• Provide accurate and complete research findings and avoid fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data.
• Ensure that all individuals who have made significant contributions to the research are appropriately recognized as authors.
• Obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent when required by the nature of the research.
• Properly acknowledge and cite all sources, ideas, and works used in the manuscript.
• Disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may influence the research or its interpretation.
• Ensure that the manuscript does not contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, or inappropriate text recycling.
• Cooperate with the editorial team in responding to questions, revisions, corrections, or investigations concerning the manuscript.

2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for managing the editorial process fairly, objectively, and transparently. Editors must:

• Evaluate manuscripts based on their academic quality, relevance, originality, and contribution to the journal's scope.
• Maintain confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and information about authors and reviewers.
• Ensure that editorial decisions are not influenced by authors' nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, religion, political views, or other personal characteristics.
• Select appropriate and qualified reviewers for submitted manuscripts.
• Handle potential conflicts of interest appropriately.
• Take reasonable action when ethical concerns or allegations of misconduct arise.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers contribute to maintaining the quality of published research through objective and constructive evaluation. Reviewers should:

• Conduct reviews objectively, fairly, and within the agreed timeframe.
• Maintain confidentiality regarding all information contained in the manuscript.
• Identify relevant published works that have not been cited by the authors, where appropriate.
• Notify the editor of any potential conflict of interest that may affect their evaluation.
• Avoid using unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for personal research or advantage.
• Provide constructive comments that can help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts.

4. Plagiarism and Research Misconduct

Health Focus Journal does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, duplicate publication, or other forms of research and publication misconduct.

All submitted manuscripts may be screened for plagiarism or substantial textual similarity. When allegations or evidence of misconduct arise, the journal will investigate the matter and may take appropriate action, including rejection, correction, retraction, or other measures in accordance with the severity of the case.

5. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial, personal, professional, or institutional relationships that could potentially influence the research, review, or editorial decision-making process.

Any potential conflict of interest should be disclosed transparently to maintain the integrity and credibility of the publication process.

6. Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, human data, or identifiable personal information must comply with applicable ethical standards and regulations. Authors should obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board when required.

Where applicable, informed consent must be obtained from research participants. For case reports, authors must ensure that appropriate consent for publication has been obtained when the case contains information that could identify the individual.

7. Corrections and Retractions

Health Focus Journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy of the scholarly record. If significant errors are identified after publication, the journal may publish a correction, clarification, or retraction as appropriate.

Articles may be retracted when there is clear evidence of serious research or publication misconduct, unreliable findings, plagiarism, or other circumstances that substantially compromise the integrity of the published work.

8. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality, relevance, originality, and contribution of submitted manuscripts. The journal does not permit commercial, financial, or personal interests to improperly influence editorial decisions.

Health Focus Journal is committed to protecting the integrity, independence, and transparency of the scholarly publishing process.