Publication Ethics

Jurnal Pengmas Kestra (JPK) is a peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal that publishes articles reporting community service activities, particularly in the field of health sciences.

The journal is published by the Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat (LPPM), Institut Kesehatan Medistra Lubuk Pakam, Indonesia.

JPK is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, transparency, and accountability. The journal follows the principles and guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in addressing publication misconduct, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, corrections, and retractions.

This statement outlines the ethical responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, the Editor-in-Chief, editorial board members, peer reviewers, and the publisher.

JPK does not tolerate plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, or other unethical publishing practices. The journal is committed to ensuring that all published community service activities are authentic, properly documented, and reported responsibly.

1. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

  1. Editors are responsible for evaluating submitted manuscripts and making decisions regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection based on editorial assessments and peer-review recommendations.

  2. Editors are responsible for maintaining the scholarly quality, integrity, and ethical standards of articles published in Jurnal Pengmas Kestra (JPK).

  3. Editors may consult other editors or qualified reviewers when making editorial decisions.

  4. Manuscripts must be evaluated objectively based on originality, relevance, quality of community service activities, appropriateness of implementation methods, and reported outcomes, without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, religion, gender, academic position, or institutional affiliation.

  5. Editors must ensure that the confidentiality and anonymity requirements of the journal's blind peer-review process are maintained.

  6. Editorial decisions must be communicated to authors with relevant reviewer comments, except for comments containing offensive, discriminatory, or defamatory language.

  7. Editors should consider reasonable requests from authors to exclude specific individuals from reviewing their manuscripts when such requests are justified and practicable.

  8. Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and related information.

  9. Editors must disclose potential conflicts of interest and withdraw from handling manuscripts when their impartiality may be compromised.

  10. Editors must ensure that manuscripts comply with relevant ethical requirements, including the protection of community participants, confidentiality of personal information, and appropriate consent for publishing identifiable documentation.

  11. Suspected publication misconduct or authorship disputes must be handled fairly and confidentially in accordance with relevant COPE guidelines and flowcharts.

  12. Editors must ensure that any necessary corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions are handled transparently and in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

  1. Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, independently, and professionally based on their expertise and the scholarly quality of the reported community service activities.

  2. Reviewers should assess the relevance of community needs, appropriateness of implementation methods, quality of program evaluation, reliability of reported outcomes, and benefits of the activities to the community.

  3. Reviewers must identify and report potential ethical concerns, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, misleading documentation, and other suspected publication misconduct.

  4. Reviewers must complete their evaluations within the agreed timeframe and promptly notify the editor if they are unable to complete the review.

  5. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose or use unpublished information for personal or professional advantage.

  6. Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and decline review assignments when such conflicts may affect their impartiality.

  7. Reviewers are strictly prohibited from using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in any part of the peer-review process, including manuscript evaluation, translation, preparation of reviewer comments, language editing, or publication recommendations, in accordance with the journal's AI Policy.

  8. Reviewer recommendations must be based entirely on independent professional judgment and supported by clear, constructive, and objective comments.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

  1. Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original, have not been previously published in substantially the same form, and are not under consideration by another journal.

  2. Authors must ensure that all reported community service activities have been genuinely conducted and supported by accurate information, authentic documentation, and verifiable outcomes.

  3. Authors must properly acknowledge and cite the work of others and must not engage in plagiarism or self-plagiarism.

  4. Authors must comply with the Authorship Criteria established by JPK. Every listed author must meet all required authorship criteria, approve the final manuscript, and accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.

  5. Authors must not submit the same or substantially similar manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously or engage in duplicate or redundant publication.

  6. Authors must report community service methods, participant involvement, program implementation, evaluation procedures, and outcomes accurately and transparently.

  7. Authors must not fabricate community service activities, falsify participant information, manipulate evaluation results, or present misleading documentation.

  8. Authors must protect the privacy and confidentiality of community members, patients, and other participants. Identifiable personal information, photographs, or documentation must not be published without appropriate consent or another valid ethical and legal basis.

  9. Authors must comply with applicable ethical requirements for community service activities, including obtaining relevant permissions and ethical approval when required.

  10. Authors must provide supporting information, activity documentation, or original evaluation data when reasonably requested by the editor to investigate concerns regarding the authenticity or integrity of the manuscript, subject to applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements.

  11. Authors must promptly inform the editor if significant errors or inaccuracies are discovered in submitted or published manuscripts and cooperate in making appropriate corrections.

  12. Authors must disclose all relevant financial, personal, professional, and institutional conflicts of interest, including funding or sponsorship related to community service activities.

  13. Authors may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies only in accordance with the journal's AI Policy. Any use requiring disclosure must be clearly declared, and authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript.

  14. Authors must ensure that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission and publication.

4. Publisher's Responsibilities

The Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat (LPPM), Institut Kesehatan Medistra Lubuk Pakam, as the publisher of JPK, provides institutional and administrative support to ensure the continuity and sustainability of journal publication.

The publisher respects editorial independence and must not interfere with manuscript evaluation or publication decisions for personal, financial, commercial, or institutional interests.

Decisions regarding manuscript acceptance, revision, or rejection remain the responsibility of the editorial team.

5. Handling Publication Misconduct

Jurnal Pengmas Kestra (JPK) is committed to addressing allegations of publication misconduct fairly, objectively, and confidentially.

When suspected misconduct is identified, the editorial team may request clarification and supporting evidence from the parties involved.

Depending on the nature and severity of the case, appropriate actions may include manuscript revision, rejection, publication of a correction, expression of concern, or article retraction.

All cases will be handled in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies and relevant COPE guidance.

6. Disclaimer

The Editorial Board of Jurnal Pengmas Kestra (JPK) makes reasonable efforts to ensure the quality, accuracy, and integrity of the information published in the journal.

However, the authors remain responsible for the content, accuracy, interpretations, and conclusions presented in their articles.

The views and opinions expressed in published articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Editorial Board, the publisher, or Jurnal Pengmas Kestra (JPK).

This disclaimer does not remove the journal's responsibility to address significant errors or publication ethics concerns when they are identified.

7. Publication Ethics References

The publication ethics policies of Jurnal Pengmas Kestra (JPK) are guided by the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Relevant resources include:

Jurnal Pengmas Kestra (JPK) is committed to regularly reviewing its publication ethics policies to maintain transparency, accountability, and responsible scholarly publishing practices.