Conflict Interest

Jurnal Ilmiah Keperawatan (JIKSHT) is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, and integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process. The journal recognizes that conflicts of interest may arise when personal, professional, financial, or institutional relationships could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the conduct, interpretation, review, or publication of research.

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest exists when an individual's private, professional, financial, or other interests may compromise, or appear to compromise, their impartiality and judgment in the research and publication process.

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

• Financial interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, research funding, grants, stock ownership, patents, royalties, or other financial relationships with organizations that may benefit from the publication.

• Professional or institutional interests: Employment, academic collaboration, institutional affiliation, competition, or other professional relationships that may affect editorial or scholarly judgment.

• Personal relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that may influence the assessment of a manuscript.

• Academic and intellectual interests: Strong academic commitments, competing research interests, or intellectual positions that could affect the objective evaluation of research findings.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may undermine the credibility and integrity of the publication process.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to JIKSHT must disclose any financial, personal, professional, or institutional relationships that could influence their research or the interpretation of their findings.

Authors must declare relevant conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission. If no conflicts exist, authors should include the following statement in their manuscript:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.”

If one or more conflicts exist, authors must provide a clear statement describing the nature of the conflict and the parties involved. Disclosure does not automatically prevent publication; the editorial team will assess whether the conflict can be appropriately managed and transparently reported.

Authors must promptly notify the journal if any relevant conflict of interest is identified after submission or publication.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors of JIKSHT must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could affect their editorial judgment. Editors must not handle manuscripts in which they have a personal, financial, professional, or collaborative interest that could compromise their impartiality.

When a conflict of interest exists, the editor must withdraw from the editorial decision-making process for the relevant manuscript and refer it to an independent editor or another appropriately qualified member of the editorial team.

Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's scientific merit, relevance to the journal's scope, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and contribution to nursing knowledge, rather than on personal or financial interests.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment. Reviewers should decline to review a manuscript if their impartiality may be compromised by personal relationships, close research collaboration, institutional affiliation, professional competition, financial interests, or other relevant circumstances.

Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal advantage, professional gain, or any purpose unrelated to the review process.

If a potential conflict becomes apparent during the review, the reviewer must inform the editorial team promptly so that appropriate action can be taken.

5. Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research, including grants, institutional funding, commercial sponsorship, and other relevant support.

The funding statement should identify the funding organization and, where applicable, explain the funder's role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

If the funder had no involvement in these activities, authors should state this explicitly.

6. Management of Conflicts of Interest

JIKSHT will assess disclosed conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the nature and significance of the conflict, the journal may take appropriate measures, including:

1. Requesting additional information or clarification from the authors, editors, or reviewers.

2. Reassigning a manuscript to an independent editor or reviewer.

3. Requiring an appropriate disclosure statement in the published article.

4. Requesting revisions to ensure transparent reporting of relevant relationships.

5. Declining a manuscript when a conflict cannot be adequately managed or when the integrity of the publication process is compromised.

6. Publishing a correction or other appropriate editorial notice if an undisclosed conflict is identified after publication and warrants corrective action.

7. Transparency and Accountability

JIKSHT is committed to ensuring that conflicts of interest are handled fairly, consistently, and transparently. All relevant disclosures will be considered during editorial assessment and peer review, with due regard for confidentiality and the rights of the individuals involved.

The journal's policies are informed by recognized publication ethics principles, including guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All authors, editors, and reviewers are expected to cooperate in maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and responsible scholarly communication.