Publication Ethics & Informed Consent Policy

Publication Ethics & Informed Consent Policy

Individual data and information, such as that gathered from a doctor-patient interaction, must be treated with the utmost confidentiality and confidence. As a result, authors nearly always need to get written informed consent from patients who are photographed and from any patients who are mentioned in their manuscripts.

All research involving human participants, human material, or human data must be conducted in full accordance with these principles.

1. Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethics Committee Approval

All research papers involving human subjects must explicitly state within the Methods section and under the Authors’ declaration of the manuscript:

• The full formal name of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee that approved or waived the study.
• The official IRB / Ethics Approval Reference/Protocol Number (e.g., IRB approval no. JFACMED-2026-0894).
• A statement that the study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

2. Informed Consent

For all research involving human subjects, informed consent to participate in the study must be obtained prior to initiation of the research.

• Authors must explicitly state in the Methods section/Authors’ declaration that written (or verbal, if justified and approved by the IRB) informed consent was obtained from all participants.
• If identifying information (such as photos, clinical details, or pedigree charts) is included, authors must obtain written Informed Consent for Publication from the patients (or their legal guardians/representatives) and explicitly confirm this in the manuscript.
• If a report satisfies all three requirements that is, if it is of great significance to public health (or important in some other way), obtaining consent would be exceptionally difficult, and a reasonable person would not object to publication it may be published without explicit consent. However, this is to be clearly states in the Method sections/Authors’ declaration.

3. Protection of Vulnerable Populations

The journal enforces strict ethical safeguards for studies involving vulnerable populations defined as groups or individuals who may have limited capacity to give voluntary, fully informed consent, or who may be susceptible to undue influence or coercion.

Vulnerable populations include, but are not limited to:

• Minors / Children (individuals under the legal age of consent).
• Pregnant women, fetuses, and neonates.
• Individuals with cognitive, intellectual, or psychiatric impairments.
• Prisoners, institutionalized individuals, internally displaced persons or refugees.
• Subordinate individuals (e.g., medical students or employees where hierarchy may influence participation).

4. Mandatory Requirements for Research Involving Vulnerable Populations:

1. Parental / Legal Guardian Consent for Minors: For studies involving children or minors, written informed consent must be obtained from the parent(s) or legally authorized guardian(s).
2. Child Assent: In addition to parental consent, age-appropriate written or verbal assent must be obtained from children who are capable of providing it (typically children aged 7 and above), following local IRB standards.
3. Surrogate / Legally Authorized Representative Consent: For adult participants lacking capacity to give legal consent (e.g., unconscious, critically ill, or cognitively impaired patients), written consent must be obtained from a legally authorized representative or next of kin.
4. Justification of Population: Authors must explicitly explain in the manuscript why the study could not be conducted in a non-vulnerable population and confirm that extra precautions were taken to protect the rights, autonomy, and well-being of the participants.