Conflict of Interest Policy

Jurnal Keperawatan Merdeka is committed to integrity, transparency, objectivity, and accountability throughout the scholarly publication process. The journal recognizes that competing interests may influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the design, conduct, interpretation, evaluation, and publication of nursing and healthcare research.

Jurnal Keperawatan Merdeka requires authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, and relevant publishing personnel to disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could affect research integrity, impartial evaluation, patient safety, or editorial independence.

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest arises when professional judgment, research activities, or editorial responsibilities may be influenced, or reasonably perceived to be influenced, by another interest or relationship.

A competing interest does not necessarily indicate unethical conduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant interest may undermine transparency, research integrity, and confidence in the scholarly publication process.

Financial Conflicts of Interest

Relevant financial interests may include:

• Research grants, sponsorships, or financial support from organizations interested in the study findings;
• Employment, consultancy fees, honoraria, or paid advisory roles;
• Ownership of shares, intellectual property, patents, or other financial interests;
• Financial relationships with hospitals, clinics, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, medical-device manufacturers, healthcare technology companies, or other commercial entities relevant to the research;
• Payments or benefits associated with nursing interventions, healthcare products, educational programs, or services being evaluated; and
• Financial benefits associated with the publication, implementation, or commercial application of the findings.

Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest

Relevant non-financial interests may include:

• Personal, family, supervisory, or close professional relationships;
• Academic competition, professional rivalry, or previous disputes;
• Institutional affiliations or organizational responsibilities;
• Clinical, managerial, educational, or advisory roles in organizations relevant to the research;
• Leadership or active involvement in professional associations, advocacy groups, or organizations directly concerned with the research topic;
• Involvement in developing, promoting, or evaluating a nursing intervention, clinical protocol, educational program, assessment instrument, or healthcare service;
• Editorial responsibilities, research collaborations, or other relationships that could compromise independent judgment; and
• Professional commitments that could reasonably affect the interpretation or reporting of research findings.

Personal beliefs or scientific viewpoints do not automatically constitute conflicts of interest. Disclosure is required when a relevant role, relationship, or commitment could reasonably affect nursing or healthcare research, its evaluation, or its reporting. Authors are not required to disclose private beliefs unrelated to their work.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial interests during manuscript submission.

Authors must:

1. Identify relationships or interests relevant to the research;
2. Disclose funding, sponsorship, and relevant institutional or organizational support;
3. Explain sponsors’ roles in research design, participant recruitment, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit for publication;
4. Ensure that disclosures accurately represent all co-authors;
5. Notify the Editorial Team of relevant changes during peer review or publication; and
6. Include a Conflict of Interest Statement in the manuscript, even when no relevant interests exist.

When No Conflict Exists

Authors may use the following statement:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.”

When a Conflict Exists

Authors should identify the relevant author, organization, and nature of the relationship. For example:

“Author A received research funding from [Organization Name]. Author B is employed by [Institution Name], which was involved in the study setting. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest.”

This wording is illustrative and must be modified to accurately reflect the actual circumstances of the study.

Funding must also be reported in the Funding Statement. Disclosure in one section does not replace a necessary explanation elsewhere in the manuscript.

A disclosed conflict does not automatically result in rejection. The editor will assess whether appropriate safeguards and transparent reporting preserve the integrity and credibility of the work.

3. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose relevant competing interests before accepting a manuscript review assignment.

Potential conflicts include:

• Personal or family relationships with authors;
• Recent or ongoing research collaboration;
• Supervisory, employment, or institutional relationships;
• Direct professional competition or significant disputes;
• Financial interests related to the study findings;
• Involvement in developing or promoting an intervention, instrument, or program being evaluated; and
• Professional, advisory, or organizational roles directly connected to the clinical intervention, nursing practice, educational approach, healthcare service, or subject under review.

Reviewers must decline assignments when impartial assessment cannot reasonably be ensured. If a conflict becomes apparent after review has begun, they must promptly inform the handling editor and await instructions.

Under double-blind peer review, reviewers must not attempt to identify authors. If an author’s identity becomes apparent and creates a potential conflict, the reviewer must notify the editor.

Confidential information obtained through peer review must not be used for personal, professional, financial, organizational, or commercial advantage. Reviewers must not use unpublished research findings or ideas for their own benefit.

4. Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors must base editorial decisions on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, relevance to the journal’s scope, and the contribution to nursing and healthcare knowledge.

They must disclose interests that could affect manuscript handling, including:

• Personal, professional, or supervisory relationships with authors;
• Current or recent research collaborations;
• Relevant institutional, clinical, educational, or financial connections;
• Direct competition or significant disputes;
• Professional or organizational roles relevant to the manuscript;
• Involvement in the research, including participation as an author or contributor; and
• Any other relationship that could reasonably compromise independent editorial judgment.

Editors must recuse themselves when a relevant conflict could compromise impartial decision-making. The manuscript must then be assigned to another qualified editor without that conflict.

When the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict, responsibility must be delegated to an independent editor or appropriately qualified Editorial Board member.

Submissions from editors, Editorial Board members, reviewers, or individuals connected to the publisher or host institution must receive independent assessment without preferential treatment. The journal must apply the same editorial and ethical standards to all submissions.

5. Institutional and Publisher Conflicts of Interest

Jurnal Keperawatan Merdeka seeks to maintain editorial independence from the financial, administrative, institutional, and organizational interests of its publisher, host institution, sponsors, and partners.

The following principles apply:

1. Institutional affiliation, financial contributions, and professional connections must not determine manuscript acceptance or rejection;
2. Authors affiliated with the publisher or host institution must meet the same standards as other authors;
3. Publication charges, advertisements, sponsorships, and commercial arrangements must not influence editorial decisions;
4. Editors and reviewers must remain free from inappropriate institutional, commercial, or other external pressure;
5. Relevant institutional interests must be disclosed and appropriately managed; and
6. Editorial decisions must remain independent of an author's academic position, institutional seniority, or professional influence.

Any potential conflict involving the publisher, host institution, or journal management must be referred to an appropriate independent representative for assessment.

6. Disclosure and Management Procedures

Initial Disclosure

Authors must provide relevant conflict-of-interest information at submission. Reviewers and editors must disclose relevant interests before undertaking their respective responsibilities.

Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Team evaluates whether a disclosed interest could affect research integrity, participant protection, reviewer impartiality, or editorial independence.

The assessment should consider the nature of the relationship, its relevance to the research, the role of the interested party, and the potential effect on the study or publication process.

Management Measures

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

• Request clarification or additional disclosure;
• Appoint an independent handling editor;
• Replace a reviewer;
• Obtain an independent expert assessment;
• Require a fuller explanation of funding, institutional involvement, or organizational relationships;
• Request additional information about the sponsor’s role in the research; or
• Introduce additional safeguards proportionate to the concern.

Documentation

Relevant disclosures, assessments, communications, and management decisions will be recorded in the journal’s editorial records, subject to applicable confidentiality and data-protection requirements.

Publication Transparency

Relevant author disclosures will appear in the published article. Confidential information will be protected during assessment, except where disclosure is necessary for publication transparency, ethical investigation, or applicable legal or institutional obligations.

7. Conflicts of Interest in Nursing and Healthcare Research

Nursing and healthcare research may involve relationships with clinical institutions, community organizations, professional associations, educational institutions, commercial entities, or research sponsors. Such relationships should be disclosed when they could influence the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of a study.

Authors should disclose relevant relationships involving:

• Hospitals, clinics, community health centers, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities;
• Universities, nursing schools, research institutions, and clinical training organizations;
• Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical-device, and healthcare technology companies;
• Organizations funding clinical research, nursing interventions, health promotion programs, or healthcare service evaluations;
• Professional nursing associations, healthcare advocacy organizations, and relevant advisory bodies;
• Organizations providing research materials, equipment, software, assessment tools, or analytical services;
• Organizations whose clinical practices, nursing services, educational programs, products, or performance are being evaluated; and
• Organizations or individuals that may benefit financially, professionally, or institutionally from the study findings.

An employment, consultancy, supervisory, clinical, educational, or collaborative relationship with a healthcare organization does not automatically invalidate a study. Authors should explain how the relationship may affect access to participants, clinical records, data, research materials, intervention delivery, analysis, interpretation, and reporting, where relevant.

Particular attention should be given to research involving patients, nurses, students, older adults, children, people with disabilities, and other potentially vulnerable populations. Authors must protect participants’ rights, safety, privacy, dignity, autonomy, and confidentiality, and must report findings accurately.

Where researchers have a direct professional or supervisory relationship with participants, they should explain relevant safeguards against coercion, undue influence, or perceived pressure to participate.

Sponsors or organizational partners must not improperly suppress unfavorable findings, interfere with independent analysis, or require misleading conclusions.

Where disclosure could reveal confidential or protected information, authors should consult the editor about an appropriate disclosure that preserves transparency while respecting applicable confidentiality and ethical requirements.

8. Undisclosed Conflicts and Corrective Actions

When a potentially undisclosed interest is identified before or after publication, Jurnal Keperawatan Merdeka may:

1. Request an explanation and supporting documentation;
2. Assess the relevance of the interest to the research, review process, or editorial decision;
3. Consult independent experts or relevant institutions, where appropriate;
4. Require an updated conflict-of-interest declaration;
5. Publish a correction to disclose previously omitted information;
6. Issue an expression of concern when serious questions remain unresolved; or
7. Consider retraction when evidence establishes that the article’s reliability or ethical integrity is fundamentally compromised.

Affected individuals will have a reasonable opportunity to respond. The journal will assess available evidence fairly and proportionately, while protecting confidentiality where appropriate.

Failure to disclose a competing interest does not automatically justify retraction. Any corrective action must be proportionate to the nature and consequences of the omission and consistent with the journal’s Correction and Retraction Policy.

9. Publication of Conflict of Interest Statements

Every published article must include a Conflict of Interest Statement.

When relevant interests exist, the statement must identify the authors concerned and describe the relationships clearly enough for readers to assess their significance.

When no relevant interests exist, an explicit declaration must be provided. Statements must be accurate and consistent with funding, affiliation, and contributorship information elsewhere in the article.

The Editorial Team may request clarification or revision of a declaration before publication. Where a material omission is identified after publication, the journal will assess whether a correction or other editorial action is required.

10. Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other concerned parties may report suspected undisclosed or improperly managed conflicts of interest through Jurnal Keperawatan Merdeka’s official editorial contact channels.

Reports should identify the relevant article or editorial matter, explain the concern, and provide supporting evidence where available.

The Editorial Team will assess complaints fairly and confidentially to the extent practicable. Where appropriate, the journal may consult an independent editor, qualified expert, or relevant institution.

Appeals will be assessed by an independent editor or qualified representative who does not have a relevant conflict. Complaints concerning the Editor-in-Chief must be referred to an appropriate independent editorial or publishing representative.

Submitting a complaint or appeal must not result in retaliation or preferential treatment. Decisions will be based on relevant evidence, editorial policy, and publication ethics principles.

11. Commitment to Publication Ethics

Jurnal Keperawatan Merdeka applies this policy consistently across submissions, regardless of authors’ institutional affiliations, academic positions, professional relationships, industry connections, or financial circumstances.

The journal is committed to transparent disclosure, fair management of competing interests, protection of research participants, and independent editorial decision-making.

This policy operates alongside the journal’s Publication Ethics, Peer Review, Authorship and Contributorship, Allegations of Research Misconduct, and Correction and Retraction policies.