Anti-Plagiarism Policy and Use of AI

The journal Horizonte Sanitario is firmly committed to scientific integrity and academic rigor, strictly adhering to the Code of Conduct of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). To ensure transparency and the quality of manuscripts related to Public Health and Health Administration, the following guidelines regarding originality, plagiarism prevention, and the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are established.

 Originality and Anti-Plagiarism Verification

  • To prevent plagiarism and ensure that submissions are genuine, all articles received undergo a rigorous technical review before the peer-review process begins.
  • Detection Tool: The iThenticate program is used to examine all submitted articles.
  • Similarity Index: The maximum similarity index allowed for a manuscript to continue in the editorial process is 3%.
  • Authors must formally declare at the time of submission that their manuscript is original, has not been previously published (either in print or electronic format), and is not under simultaneous review at another journal.

Misconduct and Sanctions

The Editorial Board considers the following practices to be serious ethical violations, which constitute grounds for immediate rejection of a manuscript or retraction of already published articles:

  • Copying paragraphs or excerpts (regardless of length) without proper use of quotation marks and citation, whether from other authors or from one’s own work (self-plagiarism).
  • Total or partial fabrication of fictitious data.
  • Falsification or manipulation of data and conclusions drawn from other research.
  • False declaration of authorship or co-authorship by failing to comply with the criteria established by the ICMJE.
  • Simultaneous submission to multiple journals or duplicate publication.

Investigation Procedure: If the editorial team detects these practices, or if a reader reports suspected misconduct, the editor will thoroughly investigate the case and request a formal explanation from the authors. Any violation will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines. If the violation is confirmed, the editorial process will be halted, or the article will be retracted if it has already been published, with all parties involved being duly informed.

 

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The use of Artificial Intelligence tools is evaluated using technical thresholds to distinguish between legitimate mechanical assistance and the automated generation of intellectual content.

Technical Review Thresholds:

  • Less than 15% (Low Risk): Generally accepted without further scrutiny, as it is typically associated with the use of legitimate tools for spelling, style, or grammar correction (such as Grammarly).
  • Between 15% and 30% (Gray Area): In this range, the editor will require a thorough manual review or request detailed clarification from the authors regarding their writing and authorship process.
  • More than 30%–40% (High Risk): Triggers automatic alerts for suspected misconduct. The manuscript will be immediately returned for revision or definitively rejected due to suspicion of automated idea generation.

Permitted uses of AI (with mandatory disclosure): AI may be freely used as a support tool, provided that authors explicitly disclose its use. These uses include:

  • Linguistic assistance: Grammar correction, improvement of readability, and text translation.
  • Structuring: Initial brainstorming, outlining the article, and optimizing its structure.
  • Formatting: Assistance with graphical visualization or the formatting of bibliographic references.

Strictly Prohibited Uses (Zero Tolerance): No amount of use is acceptable if it violates the pillars of scientific integrity:

  • AI Authorship: Artificial intelligence systems lack legal personality. In accordance with COPE guidelines, no AI may be listed as an author or co-author of a manuscript.
  • Generation of core content: It is strictly prohibited to use AI to draft critical discussions, propose hypotheses, create abstract conclusions, or perform analyses of original results.
  • Data fabrication: The use of generative models to simulate scientific images or invent experimental data is unacceptable.
  • Fake citations or "hallucinations": The inclusion of non-existent or altered bibliographic references generated by AI is grounds for rejection.