Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement- Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management

The Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management (APJHM) is a peer-reviewed journal for managers of organisations offering health and aged care services. It was launched as the official journal of the Australasian College of Health Service Management in 2006. It is currently published as a collaboration between ACHSM and the Society for Health Administration Programs in Education (SHAPE), following a Memorandum of Understanding signed in July 2019.

Aims and Scope

The target audience is professionals with an interest in health and aged care services, research, management and policy development. The Governance and management of APJHM are jointly shared by published agreement between ACHSM and the Society of Health Administration Programs in Education (SHAPE).

The mission of the APJHM is to advance understanding of the management of health and aged care service organisations within the Asia Pacific region through the publication of empirical research, theoretical and conceptual developments and analysis and discussion of current management practices.

The APJHM seeks to promote the discipline of health management throughout the region by:

  • facilitating the transfer of knowledge among readers by widening the evidence base for management practices;
  • contributing to the professional development of health and aged care managers; and promoting ACHSM and the discipline to the wider community.

Copyright and access

The Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management (APJHM) is the pure gold open access journal.  All articles published in the journal provide worldwide, barrier-free access to the full-text of articles online, immediately on publication under a creative commons license. Authors are allowed to use published articles under the CC license of CC BY-NC 4.0. 

All articles are rigorously peer-reviewed retaining the quality hallmarks of the academic publishing process that authors would experience in publishing in any traditional journal.

The Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management (APJHM) does not charge fees to authors or readers. It has adopted a policy to publish articles when ready but aggregates the published articles into issues published three times a year. It is an electronic, online publication.

The editorial team and editorial Board and contact details are here

Peer-review policy

APJHM adheres to a double-blind reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties.  All submitted research articles and notes, review articles and analysis of management practice articles go through the standard APJHM peer-review process. Only original articles that have not been published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere are considered.

The process involves:

  • Manuscript received and read by Editor APJHM;
  • Editor with the assistance of the Editorial Committee assigns at least two reviewers. All submitted articles are blind reviewed (i.e. the review process is independent). Reviewers are requested by the Editor to provide quick, specific and constructive feedback that identifies strengths and weaknesses of the article;
  • Upon receipt of reports from the Reviewers, the Editor provides feedback to the author(s) indicating the Reviewers’ recommendations as to whether it should be published in the journal and any suggested changes to improve its quality.

We ask our reviewers to read and understand the  Guidelines for Reviewers

Specifically:

  • We select two reviewers, experienced educators, researchers and managers to assess the quality of the design, methodology, analysis and conclusions of submitted research and review articles.
  • The review is ‘blind’, and we ensure that those selected do not have any immediate connection to the authors professional work groups. This policy is to ensure confidentiality and objectivity. We ask our reviewers to be supportive of authors and authors should be aware of reviewer requirements in our guidelines.
  • We ask our reviewers to be independent and objective, timely and developmental and to follow our published guidelines.

You will be allowed to provide the names of peers who could be called upon to review your manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript.

Authorship

Papers should only be submitted for consideration once all contributing authors give consent.  Criteria for authorship include substantial participation in the conception, design and execution of the work, the contribution of methodological expertise and the analysis and interpretation of the data. All listed authors should approve the final version of the paper, including the order in which multiple authors’ names will appear.

Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments should be brief (i.e. not more than 70 words) and include funding sources and individuals who have made a valuable contribution to the project but who do not meet the criteria for authorship as outlined above. The principal author is responsible for obtaining permission to acknowledge individuals.

Declaration of conflicting interests

Contributing authors to the APJHM (of all types of manuscripts) are responsible for disclosing any financial or personal relationships that might have biased their work. Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgments and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that: “The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest.” For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.

Research ethics and patient consent

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number, on the cover page (do not include this information in the manuscript to facilitate double-blind peer review).

Publication ethics

The journal is published online only three times a year at intervals of summer, winter and spring. We are adopting a process of publishing articles, as ready, but will aggregate all published articles into those regular issues.

Publication malpractice is not acceptable to the ethical standards of the Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management (APJHM).

The Editor and editorial staff work to ensure that the journal supports and reflects ethical practice. This responsibility is shared with every author, reviewer, publisher and institution and in our guidelines for publication. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice.

Plagiarism

Ethical problems that we are likely to encounter can be described as plagiarism, results included not being original to the purported author, allegations about authorship of contributions and double submission. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Therefore, the Editor and staff wish to work with our colleagues, the authors, reviewers and relevant organisations to maintain adherence to the code of conduct and work together in respecting and developing the best practices. [1-3]

Our approach to ethics and our policy for ensuring best practice was first established and approved by our parent organisation, the Board of the Australasian College of Health Services Management (ACHSM) in 2006 when the Journal was first published. The editorial board and advisory committee and the honorary editorial staff and assistant editors mostly perform their roles in an honorary capacity, and they are members of the College and/or senior health management academics, and members of SHAPE. As such their membership of ACHSM requires ongoing continuing professional development and member advancement by examination and certification. ACHSM has a code of ethics for its members and This is equally relevant to those members who participate in the APJHM. The Code of Ethics can be located at ACHSM

To ensure we can all demonstrate high ethical standards and avoid concerns of malpractice we request you read and understand the detail at the various links provided.

Allegations of malpractice and unethical behaviour

The Editor in Chief should be contacted directly where instances of malpractice, unethical behaviour occurs in relation to the governance of the Journal, the determined publication process and/or where action is suggested. Issues of concern brought to the attention of the Editor in Chief would include those about authorship, Plagiarism, libel, defamations, retractions, falsification, fabrication and other activities that affect the integrity of the Journal or its published issues.

The Editor in Chief on becoming aware or foreseeing the potential of possible allegations of malpractice or unethical behaviour shall thoroughly investigate and document the matter and obtain legal advice as necessary. The Editor will consult with the Editorial Advisory Board as to the process and appropriateness of the investigation.

The Editor in Chief will inform the Management Committee consisting of representatives of the Australasian College of Health Services Management and of the Society of Health Administration Programs in Education of the reported matter and recommendations for adoption and implementation by that Management Committee and the Editor in Chief.

Prior publication

We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and follow our guidelines and definitions.

Use the submission checklist and ensure:

  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
  • That the article is an original contribution.
  • For research articles adequate evidence of approval from a relevant ethics committee is provided.
  • That relevant data is described and presented in the text to support the article, including source and authorship.
  • That authorship of the article reflects the contribution of those listed as authors. You will be required to certify authorship responsibility prior to final acceptance for publication
  • That support, advice and suggestions to authors prior to submission are acknowledged in the text or as footnote.
  • Contributing authors to the APJHM (of all types of manuscripts) are responsible for disclosing any financial or personal relationships that might have biased their work. The corresponding author of an accepted manuscript is requested to sign a ‘Conflict of interest disclosure statement’.
  • We expect authors to be aware of the potential of plagiarism and follow our author guidelines for citations and references and, adequately identify by quotation and page numbers where direct content is used and where permission to publish is sought for material owned by others.

Open access and archiving

APJHM is the pure gold open access journal.  All articles published in the journal provide worldwide, barrier-free access to the full-text of articles online, immediately on publication under the CC license of CC BY-NC 4.0. The journal is indexed in Scopus, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Informit, Libraries Australia. The journal archives are preserved by using LOCKSS-based preservation program OJS.  

Useful References Online

  1. Elsevier Publishing Ethics Resource Kit for editors https://www.elsevier.com/editors/perk
  2. COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. (2011) https://publicationethics.org/files/Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf
  3. Publishing Ethics: Academic Research. (2019). Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-file-manager/file/5b44807ace5b3fca0954531e/CUP-Research-Publishing-Ethics-Guidelines-2019.pd