Journal policies

Peer-review policy

Submissions first undergo editorial screening for fit, completeness, originality, ethical compliance and minimum scholarly quality. Suitable research articles, reviews, case reports and project reports are normally assessed by at least two independent reviewers. Editorials may undergo editorial review or external review depending on content.

JGHCM uses a confidential review process. Reviewers must provide objective, respectful and evidence-based comments, protect manuscript confidentiality and declare conflicts. The Editor-in-Chief or delegated editor makes the final decision: accept, minor revision, major revision or reject.

Research ethics and participant protection

Research involving people, identifiable data, biological material or animals must comply with applicable ethical standards and local requirements. Authors must state the approving ethics committee, approval reference where available, and how informed consent was obtained or waived.

• Patient or participant identity must be protected.
• Case reports require appropriate consent for publication.
• Clinical trials should be registered in a recognised public registry.
• Suspected misconduct may be referred to the authors’ institution or relevant authority.

Authorship and contributorship

Authorship should be limited to people who made substantial contributions to the work, participated in drafting or critical revision, approved the final version and accept accountability for it. Contributors who do not meet all authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission.

The corresponding author must confirm that the author list and order are approved. Requests to change authorship after submission require a written explanation and agreement from all affected authors.

Originality, duplicate publication and plagiarism

Submitted work must be original and must not be under consideration elsewhere. Authors must disclose related manuscripts, preprints and previous dissemination. Text, data, images and ideas taken from other sources must be properly attributed. The journal may screen submissions for similarity and investigate suspected plagiarism, fabrication, falsification or redundant publication.

Conflicts of interest and funding

Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose financial, professional, institutional or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the work. Authors must identify all funding sources and describe the funder’s role in study design, analysis, writing and publication decisions. An editor with a relevant conflict must not handle the manuscript.

Data integrity and reporting

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of submitted data. Studies should follow appropriate reporting guidance for their design, and statistical methods should be described sufficiently for assessment. Where ethically and legally possible, authors are encouraged to provide a data-availability statement and make supporting data accessible.

Image manipulation that changes interpretation is prohibited. Any necessary adjustment must be applied consistently and disclosed.

Artificial intelligence in manuscripts

Artificial-intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for a publication. Authors remain accountable for every part of submitted work and must verify accuracy, citations, confidentiality and originality. Material use of generative AI in writing, analysis, images or other content should be transparently disclosed, including the tool and purpose. AI must not be used to fabricate data, references or evidence.

Corrections, retractions and expressions of concern

JGHCM will correct the scholarly record when a published error affects clarity, interpretation or attribution. Retraction may be considered when findings are unreliable, publication is redundant, research is unethical or serious misconduct is established. An expression of concern may be issued while a material investigation remains unresolved. Notices will be linked to the original publication and explain the reason for action.

Appeals and complaints

Authors may appeal an editorial decision by providing a concise, evidence-based explanation of a significant error in review or process. Disagreement alone is not sufficient. Complaints about conduct, delay, confidentiality or fairness will be reviewed independently where practicable. The Editor-in-Chief’s decision after appeal is final.

Privacy and confidentiality

Manuscripts, reviewer reports and editorial correspondence are confidential. Personal information collected during submission is used for journal administration, peer review, publication and integrity processes. It will not be publicly disclosed beyond what is necessary for an accepted publication or required by law, ethics or a misconduct investigation.

Article-processing charges

JGHCM does not charge authors when a manuscript is submitted or while it is under review. An article-processing charge is payable only after editorial acceptance and before publication. Payment does not influence peer review or the editorial decision.

Accepted authors pay securely through Paystack from their manuscript-tracking page. The journal confirms payment electronically before the final article is published.

Open access and copyright

JGHCM is an open-access journal, and published articles can be read without a subscription. Author licensing, permitted reuse and archiving arrangements are stated by the journal and apply independently of the article-processing charge.