Research Ethics & Informed Consent

The Health and Technology Journal (HTECHJ) is committed to maintaining high ethical standards in research involving human participants, patients, animals, and identifiable personal data. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all research submitted to HTECHJ has been conducted in accordance with applicable ethical principles, institutional requirements, national regulations, and internationally accepted standards.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must receive approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), Research Ethics Committee, or equivalent independent ethics committee before the study is conducted.

Authors must clearly state in the manuscript:

• the name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board;

• the ethical approval or protocol number, where applicable; and

• the date or status of ethical approval, where appropriate.

Research involving human participants should be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national and institutional regulations.

If ethical approval was not required for a particular study, authors must provide an appropriate explanation and, where applicable, evidence of exemption from the responsible ethics committee or institution.

The editors reserve the right to request documentation of ethical approval at any stage of the editorial or peer-review process.

Informed Consent to Participate

Authors must obtain voluntary informed consent from participants before their participation in research whenever required by applicable ethical standards or regulations.

The manuscript should state whether informed consent was obtained from the participants.

For participants who are unable to provide informed consent, including minors or individuals with impaired decision-making capacity, consent must be obtained from a parent, legal guardian, or legally authorized representative, as required by applicable regulations. Assent from the participant should also be obtained when appropriate.

Special consideration must be given to research involving vulnerable populations to ensure that participation is voluntary and that participants are adequately protected from coercion, exploitation, or unnecessary risk.

Consent for Publication

Written informed consent for publication must be obtained when manuscripts contain information, images, photographs, videos, pedigrees, case descriptions, or other material that could potentially identify an individual.

Authors should remove unnecessary identifying information and protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients and research participants.

When identifiable information is scientifically necessary, authors must confirm that the individual, parent, guardian, or legally authorized representative has provided appropriate consent for publication.

The journal may request evidence of consent for publication when necessary.

Patient Privacy and Confidentiality

Authors must protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients and research participants.

Names, initials, hospital identification numbers, medical record numbers, photographs, or other identifying information should not be published unless they are essential for scientific purposes and appropriate consent for publication has been obtained.

Simply obscuring part of a patient's face may not be sufficient to guarantee anonymity. Authors must ensure that combinations of clinical, demographic, photographic, or other information do not inadvertently identify an individual.

Case Reports and Case Studies

Case reports or clinical case studies containing identifiable patient information must include confirmation that appropriate informed consent for publication has been obtained from the patient or the patient's legally authorized representative.

Where required by institutional or national regulations, authors should also obtain ethics committee approval or confirmation that formal ethical approval is not required for the case report.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials submitted to HTECHJ should receive appropriate ethical approval and should be prospectively registered in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry recognized by relevant international standards.

Authors should provide the trial registration number and registry name in the manuscript.

HTECHJ encourages authors to follow appropriate reporting guidelines, including the CONSORT Statement, when reporting randomized controlled trials.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must comply with relevant institutional, national, and international regulations governing the ethical care and use of animals in research.

Authors must state the name of the institutional or authorized animal ethics committee that approved the study and provide the approval number where applicable.

Animal studies should be reported transparently and, where relevant, in accordance with the ARRIVE Guidelines.

Research Using Secondary or Previously Collected Data

Studies using existing datasets, medical records, registries, biological samples, or other previously collected information must comply with applicable ethical and privacy requirements.

Where ethical approval, exemption, waiver of consent, or data-use authorization is required, this information should be clearly stated in the manuscript.

Ethical Concerns and Editorial Action

HTECHJ reserves the right to request supporting documentation regarding ethical approval, informed consent, trial registration, or other ethical requirements.

If concerns arise regarding the ethical conduct of a submitted or published study, the editorial team may seek clarification from the authors and, where necessary, contact the authors' institution or relevant ethics committee.

Manuscripts that do not comply with appropriate ethical standards may be rejected. Ethical concerns identified after publication may result in correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of all ethical declarations included in their manuscripts. Submission of a manuscript to HTECHJ indicates that the authors confirm compliance with the ethical requirements applicable to their research.