Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Policy Statement

Jurnal Keperawatan Bunda Delima (JKBD), published by Akademi Keperawatan Bunda Delima, is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, independence, and integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process.

A conflict of interest occurs when personal, professional, financial, or other relationships could improperly influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the preparation, evaluation, editorial handling, or publication of a manuscript.

All authors, editors, reviewers, and other individuals involved in the publication process are required to disclose relevant conflicts of interest to protect the credibility and impartiality of the journal.

2. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

Financial interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, research grants, funding, stock ownership, patents, royalties, or other financial relationships that may be affected by the publication.
Professional relationships: Employment, institutional affiliations, supervisory relationships, or professional collaborations that could affect impartial judgment.
Personal relationships: Family relationships, friendships, personal disputes, or other close relationships involving authors, editors, or reviewers.
Academic competition: Competitive relationships involving research findings, funding opportunities, academic promotion, or intellectual property.
Institutional interests: Relationships with institutions or organizations that may benefit or be disadvantaged by the publication.
Other competing interests: Any other circumstance that could reasonably be perceived as affecting an individual's professional judgment or independence.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically indicate misconduct. The primary requirement is full disclosure and appropriate management.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript to JKBD.

Authors must provide a conflict-of-interest statement in their manuscript, even when no competing interests exist.

If no conflict of interest exists, authors may use the following statement:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.”

If a conflict exists, authors must describe the relevant relationship or interest clearly and explain its potential relevance to the submitted work.

Authors must also disclose the sources of financial support for their research and clarify the role of the funder, where applicable, in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Any relevant conflict identified after submission or publication must be reported promptly to the Editor-in-Chief.

4. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could affect their handling of a manuscript.

An editor who has a conflict of interest must not participate in decisions concerning the manuscript. The manuscript should be reassigned to an independent editor who can manage the editorial process objectively.

Editors must avoid handling manuscripts authored by close collaborators, family members, supervisors, supervisees, or individuals with whom they have significant personal, professional, or financial relationships that could compromise impartiality.

Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's scientific quality, originality, relevance, ethical compliance, and the results of the peer-review process rather than personal or institutional interests.

5. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any conflict of interest that could affect their ability to provide an objective and independent assessment.

Reviewers should decline an invitation when they have significant personal, professional, financial, institutional, or competitive relationships with the authors or the research that could compromise their impartiality.

If a potential conflict becomes apparent after accepting a review invitation, the reviewer must promptly notify the editorial team.

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal, professional, or financial advantage.

6. Management of Conflicts of Interest

JKBD will assess disclosed conflicts of interest and take appropriate measures to manage them. Such measures may include:

Requesting additional disclosure or clarification from the relevant individual.
Assigning an independent editor or reviewer.
Including a conflict-of-interest statement in the published article.
Requesting revisions to ensure transparency regarding funding or competing interests.
Declining a manuscript when a conflict cannot be managed adequately.
Taking corrective action after publication when a previously undisclosed conflict materially affects the reliability or integrity of the publication.

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for ensuring that conflicts are handled fairly and consistently with the journal's publication ethics policies.

7. Disclosure and Publication

Relevant conflict-of-interest disclosures will be assessed during editorial processing. When appropriate, the information will be included in the published article to ensure transparency for readers.

Disclosure statements should accurately reflect the information provided by the authors and any relevant editorial assessment. Confidential information will be handled appropriately and disclosed only when necessary and consistent with applicable requirements.

8. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If JKBD becomes aware of a potentially significant undisclosed conflict of interest, the editorial team may request an explanation from the relevant author, editor, or reviewer.

Depending on the findings, the journal may require a correction, change the editorial assignment, suspend the review process, reject a manuscript, or issue a correction or other appropriate notice for a published article.

Serious cases may be referred to the author's affiliated institution or another appropriate body when warranted.

9. Commitment to Publication Ethics

JKBD is committed to maintaining transparency, accountability, fairness, and independence in scholarly publishing. All participants in the publication process are expected to disclose relevant competing interests and cooperate with reasonable measures to manage them.

This policy is informed by established publication ethics principles, including relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Journal: Jurnal Keperawatan Bunda Delima (JKBD)
Publisher: Akademi Keperawatan Bunda Delima
Website: https://journal.bundadelima.ac.id/index.php/jkbd