Article Withdrawal, Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern Policy

The International Journal of Health Concord (IHC) ensures that all published articles adhere to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) (ICMJE Recommendations) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (COPE Guidelines).

IHC is committed to maintaining the integrity of the academic record. If significant inaccuracies, misleading statements, or distorted reports are identified, they must be corrected promptly. If a publication is found to be fraudulent after investigation, it should be retracted with clear identification for readers and indexing systems.

Corrections

Errors in published articles may be corrected through a corrigendum or erratum when the Editor-in-Chief deems it necessary to inform readers. The corrigendum or erratum will be published as a separate article and reference the original publication.

Withdrawal Policy

Articles may be considered for retraction if:

• Findings are unreliable due to error (e.g., calculation mistakes, data fabrication) or honest mistakes.
• Work has been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (over-publication).
• Evidence of plagiarism exists.
• Study involves unethical research practices.

Retraction procedures follow COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Retractions

Retractions occur when severe errors or misconduct invalidate the article’s conclusions, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research. The process includes:

• Publishing a retraction note titled “Retraction: [Article Title]” signed by the author(s) and/or editor.
• Linking the retraction note to the original article in the electronic version.
• Keeping the original article online, unchanged except for a watermark on each page indicating it has been retracted.

Article Deletion: Legal Restrictions

In rare cases, articles may be deleted due to legal issues, defamation, court orders, or serious health risks. In such cases, metadata (title and author information) will remain, but the text will be replaced with a notice stating the article has been removed for legal reasons.

Article Substitution

If an article poses serious health risks or requires substantial correction, the author may submit a revised version. The original article will follow the retraction procedure, with a link to the corrected, republished version and its document history.

Editorial Expressions of Concern

If substantial doubt exists regarding the honesty or integrity of a submitted or published article, the editor may issue an expression of concern. This occurs when investigations are inconclusive but strong indications of concern remain, or if the investigation is ongoing and a judgment cannot be made promptly. Expressions of concern will be linked to the relevant article.

COPE Guidelines

All procedures follow COPE guidelines (Retraction Guidelines) to ensure transparency, integrity, and consistency in academic publishing.