Ethical standards

ETHICAL STANDARDS AND ANTI-PLAGIARISM POLICIES.

The journal Horizonte sanitario undertakes to receive manuscripts related to Public Health and Health Administration and to submit them to peer review, respecting the confidentiality of the data, which will only be distributed to editors, reviewers, and/or experts consulted. The journal subscribes to the Code of Conduct of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

For Authors:

  • Authors must specify in the manuscript submission letter the contribution of each author, ensuring that they meet the criteria for authorship.
  • Declare, at the time of submission, that the manuscript is original, has not been previously published in print or electronic format, is not currently under review by another journal, and will not be submitted to any print or digital media, including the internet, before the editorial decision is known. 
  • Indicate whether the work has been previously presented in book, paper, or poster format.
  • Acknowledge the authorship of your own work and that of other authors, strictly following the instructions to authors on correct citation.
  • Declare compliance with national and international ethical guidelines.
  • Specify the approval of research involving humans or animals by the research ethics committee and the obtaining of informed consent or assent.
  • Attach a copy of the letter of approval from the research ethics committee when submitting the manuscript.
  • Declare any conflicts of interest that could bias or suggest bias in your work.
  • Declare the responsibility of the author or authors for the views expressed.
  • Authors have the right to openly and spontaneously retract part or all of the content of their manuscript(s) at any time. The communication in which the retraction is made must be sufficiently explicit.
  • No changes or additions of authors will be accepted after the manuscript has been submitted.
  • No textual, graphic, or tabular information that could affect the confidentiality of data handling and the integrity of individuals, institutions, or communities will be published.
  • All manuscripts must indicate any conflicts of interest, as well as any sources of funding received.
  • Authors must notify the journal of any errors that have been made so that they can be corrected.

 

For Reviewers:

 

  • Reviewers must guarantee confidentiality with regard to the information received during the review of manuscripts, avoiding commenting individually or publicly on the content of the manuscript, not using it for personal or academic purposes, and deleting evaluations after sending them.
  • Identify and declare any conflict of interest that may positively or negatively affect the evaluation of the work, refraining from participating in the review process.
  • Inform the editors if they suspect inappropriate practices by the authors.
  • Express value judgments respectfully, objectively, and substantiated, ensuring the quality of the work.
  • Follow the criteria established in the review form and ensure the timely delivery of their opinion so as not to affect the editorial process.
  • The editorial team and committee must guarantee the ethics and confidentiality of the information provided to them during the editorial process.
  • Keep the content of the manuscripts, the editorial process, and the final destination of the works confidential, except to the authors regarding their own manuscripts.
  • Guarantee the exclusive use for the stated purposes of the names and email addresses entered on the manuscript submission platform.
  • Ensure the anonymity of authors by the editorial committee during the editorial process from receipt of the manuscript to the final decision.
  • Ensure that peer review is double-blind.

 

For the Editorial Committee:

 

  • The editorial committee will be alert to potential conflicts of interest that may affect the ability of peers or reviewers, or that disqualify them from reviewing a particular manuscript.
  • The editorial committee and reviewers formally declare that they are unable to use the information obtained in their work with manuscripts for private or personal purposes.
  • Ensure a timely, clear, and respectful response to authors, readers, members of the editorial committee, or reviewers who submit complaints, claims, or clarifications in writing.
  • The editorial committee refrains from publishing articles of its own authorship in the Journal.
  • Support editorial decisions on evaluated articles (accept, reject, or request modifications) and submit a report endorsed by the Editorial Committee.
  • The editor, based on the principle of good faith, accepts as valid the statements made by authors regarding intellectual property, ethical declarations, sources of funding, and declarations of conflict of interest.
  • Ensure a streamlined evaluation, review, and editorial decision-making process, in accordance with available resources, to facilitate the dissemination of the works.
  • Ensure that the editorial process, from the beginning of the review, selection of anonymous reviewers, and final decision, takes into account only the quality, originality, relevance, and advancement in the knowledge and practice of public health of the manuscripts.
  • Ensure that published articles comply with all relevant ethical and quality standards.
  • Ensure that internal and external authors from the Universidad Mayor de San Simon are treated equally in the evaluation of their manuscripts during the editorial process, which only takes into account quality, originality, relevance, and advancement in knowledge.
  • Ensure that the editorial committee has full authority in editorial decisions regarding the selection, evaluation, and publication of manuscripts, based solely on the quality, originality, relevance, and advancement of knowledge and practice in public health of the manuscripts, without interference from funders and promoters.
  • Ensure that the editorial committee has the freedom to express critical views responsibly, without fear of reprisals, even if they differ from those of funders and promoters.
  • Manuscripts with inconclusive or statistically insignificant findings will not be excluded from consideration for publication, as long as the reviewers and the editorial committee consider that they can contribute to the advancement of knowledge.
  • The Editorial Committee will be alert to the occurrence of grounds for withdrawal of articles, consisting of ethical violations including fraud, deception, and copyright infringement.
  • Horizonte sanitario considers that partnering with patients, their families, patient advocacy groups, and the general public is an essential ethical imperative for improving the quality, safety, effectiveness, and sustainability of health care.

 

Horizonte Sanitario believes that partnering with patients, their families, patient advocacy groups, and the general public is an essential ethical imperative for improving the quality, safety, effectiveness, and sustainability of healthcare.

Verification of originality:

To avoid plagiarism and guarantee originality, all articles received will be filtered by the iThenticate program prior to the start of the arbitration process.

Inappropriate conduct and sanctions:

Horizonte Sanitario magazine considers the following practices to be inappropriate and grounds for rejection of manuscripts or withdrawal of published articles:

  • Copying fragments of paragraphs or independent fragments of any length, without the proper quotation marks and citation, whether from one's own work (self-citation) or from other authors.
  • Fabrication of fictitious data, either partially or totally.
  • Falsification and manipulation of conclusions or data from other research or articles.
  • Falsely declaring authorship or co-authorship of articles, without meeting the criteria.
  • Simultaneous submission to another journal or duplicate publication.
  • If a reader suspects the occurrence of an inappropriate practice, they should notify the Editorial Team as soon as possible.
  • The editor will thoroughly investigate any inappropriate practices and request an explanation from the authors.

Any violation of the above points will be investigated in accordance with the guidelines published by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and will receive a personalized response.

If inappropriate practices are proven, the article will be withdrawn if it has been published or its process will be interrupted, duly informing those involved.