Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

 Journal of Maternal and Child Health Sciences (JMCHS) is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, independence, and integrity throughout the editorial and publication process. All authors, editors, and peer reviewers are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the conduct, evaluation, interpretation, or publication of scholarly work.

1. Conflicts of Interest for Authors

Authors must disclose all relevant financial and non-financial relationships that could influence the research or its interpretation.

Potential conflicts of interest may include financial support, employment, consultancy arrangements, honoraria, institutional affiliations, personal relationships, professional collaborations, and other competing interests.

All authors must provide a Conflict of Interest Declaration when submitting a manuscript.

If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should state:

"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this study."

2. Conflicts of Interest for Editors

Editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest related to manuscripts under their responsibility.

Editors must not handle manuscripts when personal, financial, professional, or institutional relationships may compromise their impartiality.

Where a conflict of interest exists, the manuscript must be assigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict.

Editorial decisions must be based on scientific merit, methodological quality, originality, ethical compliance, and reviewer recommendations, and must not be influenced by financial or personal interests.

3. Conflicts of Interest for Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers must disclose any relationships or circumstances that may affect their independence or impartiality.

Reviewers must decline an invitation to review when they have a relevant conflict of interest, including close personal or professional relationships, direct research competition, financial interests, or other circumstances that could compromise objectivity.

Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information for personal or professional advantage.