Ethical Oversight

1. Introduction

NERS Jurnal Keperawatan (NJK), published by the Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Andalas, is committed to ensuring that research published in the journal is conducted and reported in accordance with appropriate ethical standards. Ethical oversight is a shared responsibility involving authors, research institutions, ethics committees, funders, peer reviewers, and the journal.

NJK recognizes the importance of protecting the rights, dignity, safety, privacy, and welfare of research participants, particularly in nursing and health sciences research involving patients, healthcare professionals, clinical settings, health records, and vulnerable populations.

This policy outlines the journal’s expectations concerning ethical approval, informed consent, confidentiality, responsible research conduct, and the reporting of ethical considerations in submitted manuscripts. NJK aims to handle ethical concerns responsibly and in accordance with applicable regulations and relevant publication ethics guidance, including the principles promoted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

2. Description

Ethical oversight in scholarly publishing refers to the procedures and responsibilities intended to ensure that research is conducted, reviewed, and reported ethically. For NJK, the main areas of ethical oversight include:

Protection of Human Participants: Ensuring that research involving patients, nurses, nursing students, healthcare professionals, or other human participants respects their rights, dignity, safety, and welfare.

Informed Consent: Ensuring that participants receive appropriate information about the research and voluntarily agree to participate, where consent is required.

Research Ethics Approval: Ensuring that research requiring ethics review has received approval or an appropriate exemption from a competent research ethics committee before the research begins, in accordance with applicable requirements.

Privacy and Confidentiality: Protecting personal information, medical records, clinical images, interview transcripts, and other sensitive information that could identify research participants.

Research Involving Vulnerable Populations: Ensuring that additional safeguards are considered when research involves individuals who may be vulnerable to harm, undue influence, or coercion, including patients with impaired decision-making capacity, children, and individuals dependent on healthcare providers.

Responsible Research Conduct: Promoting research integrity and preventing fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate authorship, and other forms of research misconduct.

Ethical Publishing Practices: Ensuring that editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, relevance to the journal’s scope, research integrity, and compliance with applicable ethical standards.

3. Policy

3.1 Compliance with Ethical Standards

All research submitted to NJK must be conducted in accordance with applicable national and institutional regulations, relevant ethical standards, and the requirements of the research setting.

Authors are responsible for determining whether their studies require review and approval by a research ethics committee or institutional review board and for obtaining the necessary approval before commencing research.

Where ethical approval is not required or an exemption has been granted, authors must provide an appropriate explanation and, where applicable, identify the institution or ethics committee responsible for that determination.

3.2 Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must respect their autonomy, dignity, rights, safety, and welfare.

Authors must ensure that participants receive appropriate information about the research, including its purpose, procedures, potential risks and benefits, and their rights as participants. Informed consent must be obtained when required by the study design, applicable regulations, and the relevant ethics committee.

Where participants are unable to provide consent independently, consent or authorization must be obtained from a legally authorized representative where required. Researchers must also consider the participant’s willingness and capacity to participate, in accordance with applicable ethical requirements.

Authors must not use coercion, undue influence, or inappropriate pressure to recruit or retain participants.

3.3 Research Ethics Committee Approval

Research involving human participants, patients, clinical interventions, identifiable health information, or other activities requiring ethical review must receive approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board before the research begins, as required by applicable regulations and institutional policies.

The manuscript must identify the approving ethics committee and provide the approval number or reference, where applicable.

If a study has received an exemption or has been determined not to require ethics review, authors must state this accurately and explain the basis for the determination. Where appropriate, the name of the institution or committee making the determination should be provided.

NJK may request supporting documentation concerning ethical approval or exemption when necessary to assess a manuscript. The journal does not replace the role of research ethics committees and does not grant retrospective ethics approval for research that should have received prior approval.

3.4 Research Involving Patients and Clinical Settings

Research conducted in hospitals, clinics, community health services, nursing facilities, or other healthcare settings must comply with relevant research ethics requirements and institutional permissions.

Authors must ensure that patient recruitment, clinical observations, interventions, interviews, and access to health records are authorized and conducted appropriately.

For studies involving clinical interventions, authors should describe relevant ethical safeguards, participant consent procedures, and applicable trial registration information where required.

Clinical care must not be compromised for research purposes. Any risks to participants must be appropriately assessed and managed under the approved research protocol.

3.5 Vulnerable Populations

Research involving vulnerable individuals or groups requires particular attention to informed consent, privacy, participant welfare, and the prevention of coercion or undue influence.

Vulnerable populations may include children, individuals with impaired decision-making capacity, critically ill patients, dependent patients, and other groups whose circumstances may limit their ability to make voluntary decisions.

Authors must explain the relevant safeguards where applicable, including appropriate consent or assent procedures, authorization by legally authorized representatives where required, and measures to minimize risks.

When recruitment involves a relationship of authority or dependency, such as a nurse recruiting their own patients or a lecturer recruiting students, authors should explain how voluntariness was protected and how undue influence was minimized.

3.6 Privacy, Confidentiality, and Data Protection

Authors must protect the privacy and confidentiality of research participants throughout data collection, analysis, storage, and publication.

Personally identifiable information, medical record details, patient names, addresses, identification numbers, and other information that could identify participants must not be included in a manuscript unless disclosure is ethically and legally justified and the required consent and permissions have been obtained.

Authors should use anonymization or de-identification wherever appropriate and must comply with applicable data protection requirements and research ethics approvals.

Research data must be stored and shared responsibly. Data availability requirements under NJK’s Data and Reproducibility policy do not override participant confidentiality, consent conditions, or legal restrictions.

3.7 Consent for Publication

Consent to participate in a study is distinct from consent to publish identifiable information.

Where a manuscript includes identifiable patient information, clinical photographs, videos, case details, or other material that could reasonably identify an individual, authors must obtain specific consent for publication when required by applicable ethical standards and regulations.

Authors must ensure that individuals understand the nature of the material to be published and the potential implications of publication. Identifying information should be omitted or appropriately masked wherever possible, but authors should not assume that masking alone guarantees anonymity.

The journal may request confirmation that the necessary consent for publication has been obtained. Consent documentation must be handled confidentially and should not itself disclose unnecessary personal information.

3.8 Research Involving Animals

Although animal research is not central to NJK’s scope, any manuscript involving animals must comply with applicable animal welfare regulations and relevant institutional requirements.

Where ethical approval is required, authors must identify the approving animal ethics committee and provide the approval reference, where applicable. Authors must also describe the measures taken to minimize animal suffering and ensure appropriate care.

3.9 Research Integrity and Misconduct

NJK expects authors to conduct and report research honestly and responsibly. Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate manipulation of data or images, redundant publication, and other practices that undermine research integrity.

Concerns about research misconduct will be handled in accordance with NJK’s Allegations of Misconduct policy and relevant publication ethics guidance.

Authors must provide accurate information about their research methods, data, ethical approval, consent procedures, funding, and conflicts of interest. Misrepresentation of ethical approval or consent may result in rejection, further investigation, correction, or other appropriate editorial action.

3.10 Ethical Editorial and Publishing Practices

NJK is committed to fair and responsible editorial practices. Editorial decisions should be based on the quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and ethical acceptability of the submitted work.

Editors and reviewers must respect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and disclose relevant conflicts of interest. Individuals with conflicts that could compromise their impartiality should not participate in the relevant editorial or review decisions.

Commercial considerations, advertising, or other inappropriate external influences must not determine editorial decisions.

4. Technical Requirements and Implementation

4.1 Ethical Considerations Statement

Authors must include an appropriate statement addressing ethical considerations in their manuscript when relevant to the study.

The statement should include the following information, as applicable:

  • The name of the research ethics committee or institutional review board that approved the study.

  • The ethics approval number or reference, where available.

  • A statement regarding an exemption or determination that ethics approval was not required, together with an explanation where appropriate.

  • Confirmation that informed consent was obtained when required and a description of the consent procedure.

  • Information about consent for publication when identifiable participant information or images are included.

  • Relevant safeguards for vulnerable populations.

  • Any additional information required by the study’s ethics approval, institutional policy, or applicable regulations.

Authors should ensure that the information in the manuscript is consistent with the approved research protocol and the actual procedures used.

4.2 Examples of Ethical Statements

Research involving human participants with ethics approval:

“This study was approved by the [full name of the research ethics committee] (Approval No. [number]). All research procedures were conducted in accordance with the approved protocol and applicable ethical requirements. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.”

Research involving patients or clinical records:

“This study was approved by the [full name of the research ethics committee] (Approval No. [number]). Access to clinical information was authorized in accordance with applicable institutional requirements. Participant confidentiality was protected throughout the study.”

Research with an applicable exemption or determination that approval was not required:

“The requirement for ethics approval was assessed by [name of the relevant institution or committee]. The study was determined to be exempt from ethics review or not to require approval because [brief explanation].”

Authors should use this statement only when the exemption or determination is genuine and supported by the relevant institutional or regulatory requirements.

Research involving identifiable information or images:

“Written informed consent for publication of the identifiable information or images was obtained from the individual concerned or their legally authorized representative, where applicable.”

This statement should be included only when the required consent has actually been obtained.

Research that does not involve human participants or personal data:

“This study did not involve human participants, identifiable personal data, or animal subjects. Ethics approval and informed consent were therefore not applicable to this study.”

Authors should adapt this example to the actual study design and should not use it if the research involves human participants, identifiable information, or activities requiring ethical review.

4.3 Documentation and Verification

NJK may request supporting documentation to clarify ethical approval, exemption, participant consent, consent for publication, or relevant institutional permissions.

Authors must respond accurately to such requests and must not submit falsified, altered, or misleading documentation.

Where serious concerns arise, NJK may seek clarification from the authors or, where appropriate and lawful, contact the relevant institution or ethics committee. Any such action should respect confidentiality and applicable legal requirements.

4.4 Responsibilities of Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers should remain alert to potential ethical concerns, including missing or inconsistent ethics statements, questionable consent procedures, inappropriate disclosure of patient information, or inconsistencies between the reported methods and ethical approval.

Concerns should be referred to the appropriate editor for assessment. Reviewers should not independently investigate participants or contact research institutions about a manuscript without authorization from the journal.

NJK may request clarification or additional documentation before making an editorial decision. Manuscripts that do not satisfy the journal’s ethical requirements may be rejected.

4.5 Handling Ethical Concerns

Ethical concerns identified before or after publication will be assessed in accordance with NJK’s publication ethics policies and relevant COPE guidance.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, the journal may request clarification, seek additional documentation, consult appropriate institutional authorities, correct the published record, issue an Expression of Concern, or retract an article when justified.

Editorial action will be proportionate to the available evidence and the circumstances of the case. Authors will ordinarily be given an opportunity to respond to concerns, subject to the need to protect participants and address urgent risks.

4.6 Research Conducted in Institutions and Healthcare Organizations

Authors conducting research in hospitals, clinics, universities, community health services, or other organizations must obtain the institutional permissions required for their research.

Permission to access a healthcare facility or institutional dataset does not automatically replace research ethics approval where such approval is required.

Authors must respect confidentiality agreements and must not disclose restricted institutional information without appropriate authorization. Where an organization or individual could be identified from the manuscript, authors must ensure that the disclosure is justified and that the necessary permissions have been obtained.

5. Policy Review

NJK may periodically review this policy to maintain alignment with developments in research ethics, participant protection, data privacy, and publication ethics.

Authors are encouraged to consult the ethical requirements of their institutions, relevant national regulations, and recognized international guidance before beginning research.

COPE and Ethical Research Resources

For questions regarding this policy, please contact:

NERS Jurnal Keperawatan (NJK)
Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Andalas
Limau Manis, Pauh, Padang, West Sumatra 25163, Indonesia
Email: jurnal.fkep.unand@gmail.com
Website: https://ners.fkep.unand.ac.id/index.php/NJK/index