Bioethical requirements of the journal

The journal adheres to international standards of medical research ethics (ICMJE, COPE, WHO, Declaration of Helsinki). All materials submitted to the editorial board must comply with the requirements of biosafety, confidentiality and human rights.

1. Ethical approval of research involving human subjects

Research involving:

• pregnant women;
• women in labour;
• newborns;
• children;
• patients with reproductive disorders;
• human biological material

must be mandatorily approved by a local or national ethics committee.

In the article, authors must specify:

• the full name of the ethics committee;
• the protocol number;
• the date of the decision;
• confirmation of compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Example wording:

‘The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the P. L. Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education (protocol No. 12 dated 14 May 2024). All procedures complied with ethical standards and the Declaration of Helsinki (2013).’

2. Voluntary informed consent

For all studies involving human participants or the use of biological materials, voluntary informed consent must be obtained from participants or their legal representatives.

It must be clearly stated:

• that consent was obtained in writing,
• that participants were informed about the study’s objectives, risks and confidentiality.

For children and newborns — consent from parents or guardians.

3. Protection of personal data and confidentiality

Authors are required to:

• not include full names, medical record numbers or contact details;
• not publish identifying photographs of patients without specific consent;
• replace personal data with codes or ciphers.

If a patient’s image is used, separate written consent for publication is required.

4. Research involving vulnerable groups

Vulnerable groups include:

• pregnant women;
• newborns;
• children;
• patients with reproductive disorders;
• cancer patients;
• people with impaired decision-making capacity.

For such studies, the requirements regarding ethical approval and informed consent are particularly stringent.

5. Ethical requirements for clinical cases

Publication of a clinical case requires:

• informed consent from the patient or guardian;
• guarantees that the information does not allow the individual to be identified;
• removal or blurring of images if there is no permission for publication.

6. Experiments using human biological material

When working with:

• placenta,
• umbilical cord blood,
• follicular fluid,
• embryonic cells,
• other tissues

the following must be stated:

• the source of the material;
• the donor’s consent;
• storage and usage conditions;
• compliance with national legislation.

7. Animal research

If the work involves animal experiments:

• approval from a bioethics committee is required;
• compliance with the 3R principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement);
• compliance with international FELASA/AVMA guidelines.

8. Anti-plagiarism, academic integrity and data integrity

Authors must confirm that:

• all data are accurate;
• there has been no fabrication or falsification of data;
• the manuscript has been submitted to only one journal;
• all citations are correctly formatted.

All articles undergo a plagiarism check (minimum 80–90% originality).

9. Disclosure of conflicts of interest

Authors must disclose any:

• financial interests;
• participation in clinical trials;
• collaboration with companies;
• potential sources of bias.

10. Disclosure of funding sources

The following must be clearly stated:

• grants, funds, institutional support;
• if no funding was received, this must also be stated.