Human and Animal Research Ethics Statement

Human and Animal Research Ethics Statement

JHTD is committed to ensuring the highest ethical standards in all research it publishes. Submission of a manuscript constitutes authors' confirmation that the research described therein was conducted in accordance with all applicable ethical regulations.

Human Research

All research involving human participants must have been approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), ethics committee, or equivalent regulatory body prior to commencement. Authors must include in the manuscript:

  • The name of the ethics committee or IRB that granted approval
  • The ethics approval reference number or protocol number
  • A statement confirming that written (or appropriately waived) informed consent was obtained from all participants, or a justification for waiver
  • Confirmation that the study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, most recent revision)

Animal Research

All research involving animals must comply with the 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) and must have received prior approval from the relevant Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent body. Authors must include:

  • The name of the approving institutional or regulatory body
  • The approval protocol number
  • Confirmation that the study follows ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines

Patient Privacy and Anonymization

Authors must ensure that all patient data is fully anonymized in accordance with applicable data protection laws (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA). Identifying information, including photographs, must not be included unless written informed consent has been obtained from the patient (or legal guardian). A statement of consent for publication must be included in the manuscript.

Manuscripts Without Ethics Approval

Manuscripts describing research involving human participants or animals that do not provide evidence of appropriate ethics approval will be rejected without review. Authors may be asked to provide copies of ethics approval documentation during the review process.