Research Ethics and Consent

Research Ethics and Consent

The Journal of Maternal and Child Health (JMCH) is committed to upholding ethical standards in biomedical and health research. The journal’s ethical requirements are guided by the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance on ethical concerns regarding studies involving human subjects.

All research involving human participants, identifiable human data or biological materials, and animals must comply with applicable ethical guidelines, regulations, and institutional requirements. Authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board before conducting the research, where required. The manuscript must report the name of the approving committee and the approval reference number, where applicable. Authors must also ensure that informed consent has been obtained when required and that participants’ privacy, confidentiality, and rights are protected.

Unethical research practices include conducting research without required ethical approval, failing to obtain informed consent when required, violating participant confidentiality, exposing participants or animals to unjustified harm, and misrepresenting ethical approval or consent procedures.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: Ethical approval is generally not required for systematic reviews and meta-analyses based exclusively on previously published literature. However, additional ethical requirements may apply when the study involves identifiable individual-level data or other materials requiring ethical review. Registration in PROSPERO is not mandatory under this journal policy but is strongly encouraged as a good research practice.

Case Reports: Authors must obtain the patient's written informed consent for publication, where required, and ensure that identifying information is appropriately protected. Particular care must be taken when reporting clinical images, radiological findings, laboratory results, and other patient information that could reveal an individual's identity.

If unethical research is suspected or identified, the journal may request additional documentation, consult the relevant institution or ethics committee, and take appropriate editorial action, including manuscript rejection or post-publication correction, an expression of concern, or retraction.

For detailed requirements, read the journal’s Research Ethics and Consent Policy.