Editorial Policy

1. Aims and Scope

The Indus Journal of Medical and Health Sciences (IJMHS) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to publishing high-quality original research, reviews, and short communications across all areas of clinical medicine, biomedical sciences, public health, and healthcare delivery. Topics include but are not limited to:

  • Clinical medicine and medical specialties

  • Biomedical research and translational medicine

  • Epidemiology and public health

  • Health systems, policy, and economics

  • Medical education and training

  • Nursing and allied health sciences

  • Medical ethics and health law

  • Infectious diseases and global health

  • Medical technology and innovation

2. Peer Review Process

  • Model: Triple-Blind Peer Review. IJMHS employs a rigorous triple-blind review process to maximize objectivity and impartiality. In this model:

    1. Authors are anonymous to Reviewers.

    2. Reviewers are anonymous to Authors.

    3. The identity of the Handling Editor/Associate Editor managing the manuscript is also concealed from the Authors throughout the review process.

  • All correspondence and decisions are communicated by the Journal's Editorial Office on behalf of the handling editor via ijmhs@induspublishers.com.

  • Initial Check: All submissions undergo a preliminary review by the Editorial Office for scope, formatting, plagiarism, and ethical compliance.

  • Assignment: Suitable manuscripts are assigned to a Handling Editor/Associate Editor. The editor, whose identity is shielded, then invites at least two independent, expert reviewers.

  • Decision: Decisions are based on reviewers’ confidential recommendations and the editorial assessment. Possible outcomes:

    • Accept

    • Minor revisions

    • Major revisions

    • Reject

  • Revision: Authors are given a reasonable time to revise and resubmit, responding point-by-point to anonymous reviewer comments.

  • Final Decision: The Editor-in-Chief or the anonymous Handling Editor makes the final acceptance decision based on the revised manuscript and subsequent reviews.

3. Authorship Criteria

Authors must meet all four ICMJE criteria:

  1. Substantial contributions to conception/design, data acquisition/analysis/interpretation.

  2. Drafting or critically revising the article.

  3. Final approval of the version to be published.

  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

  • Changes in authorship (addition, removal, order) require written consent from all authors before publication.

  • Corresponding authors ensure all co-authors have seen and approved the final manuscript.

4. Research and Publication Ethics

  • Human and Animal Studies: Research involving human participants or animal subjects must include approval from an appropriate ethics committee/institutional review board and documented informed consent where applicable. Compliance with relevant guidelines (e.g., Declaration of Helsinki, CIOMS, ARRIVE) is mandatory.

  • Conflict of Interest: Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional conflicts that could influence the work. These disclosures are managed confidentially by the Editorial Office.

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Only original, unpublished work is considered. Manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using software (e.g., iThenticate). High similarity or redundant publication leads to rejection or retraction.

  • Data Integrity: Fabrication, falsification, or selective reporting of data is unacceptable. Authors may be asked to provide raw data during review.

  • Clinical Trials: Must be registered in a publicly accessible trials registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) prior to participant enrollment. The trial registration number must be provided.

  • Corrections and Retractions: Errors in published articles will be corrected via errata or retractions with transparency.

5. Open Access, Copyright, and Licensing

  • IJMHS is a Gold Open Access journal. All published articles are made freely available to read, download, and share immediately upon publication.

  • Copyright Retention: Authors retain the copyright of their work.

  • License: All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license (License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).

    • This license permits users to share (copy and redistribute) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon) the material for non-commercial purposes only, provided appropriate credit is given and any new creations are licensed under identical terms.

    • Commercial use of any published content requires prior written permission from the copyright holder(s) (the authors).

  • Author Agreement: Upon submission, authors are required to agree that, if accepted, their work will be published under this license.

  • Article Processing Charges (APCs): To sustain open access publishing, IJMHS may levy an APC on accepted manuscripts. Waiver or discount requests are considered on a case-by-case basis for authors with genuine financial constraints.

6. Manuscript Submission Requirements

  • Submissions must be made online through the journal’s submission portal.

  • Manuscripts must follow the journal’s specific formatting and style guidelines (available on the website) designed to support the triple-blind process (e.g., authors must remove all identifying information from the manuscript file itself).

  • Cover letter, author contributions, funding sources, and declarations (ethics, conflicts, consent, clinical trial registration) must be included in the submission system's metadata fields, separate from the anonymized manuscript.

7. Editorial Independence and Integrity

  • Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on intellectual merit, without regard to authors’ race, gender, nationality, religion, or institutional affiliation.

  • Editorial decisions are independent of journal owners/publishers and commercial interests.

  • The triple-blind process reinforces this independence by anonymizing editorial handling.

  • Advertisements or sponsored content must not influence editorial decisions.

8. Appeals and Complaints

  • Authors may appeal editorial decisions with a formal letter detailing reasons sent to ijmhs@induspublishers.com; appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or an independent editorial board member not involved in the original decision.

  • Complaints regarding processes or ethical concerns should be directed to the Editorial Office at ijmhs@induspublishers.com and will be handled confidentially and promptly.

9. Archiving and Preservation

  • IJMHS uses digital preservation systems (e.g., Portico, CLOCKSS) to ensure permanent accessibility of published content.

  • Published articles are archived on the journal’s website and indexed in relevant databases.

10. Post-Publication Discussions

  • Readers may submit constructive comments or corrections on published articles via the journal’s website.

  • Significant post-publication corrections or updates may be published as “Letters to the Editor” or corrigenda.