Ethical conclusion policy
The journal’s policy regarding ethical approval for research involving humans, animals, biological materials, and confidential data is based on the current legislation of Ukraine, including the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Human Rights in the Field of Biomedical Research,” the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection,” and the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Animals from Cruelty,” as well as international ethical guidelines (Declaration of Helsinki, ARRIVE guidelines, etc.).
The journal recognizes the priority of ethical norms and standards in scientific research involving humans, animals, biological materials, as well as studies involving personal or other confidential data.
Authors are required to provide confirmation of a positive ethical review in cases where the research:
- involves human participants as research subjects;
- includes the use of human biological materials;
- involves animals or animal-derived biological objects;
- includes the processing of personal, sensitive, or confidential data;
- falls under specific Ukrainian or international bioethical and biosafety regulations.
The ethical approval must clearly include:
- the full name of the issuing institution;
- the date and protocol number;
- the form of informed consent obtained (for human studies).
Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained voluntarily, without coercion, and in a form understandable to participants.
It is strictly prohibited to publish personal data or visual materials that allow identification of individuals without their written consent.
Research involving animals must comply with the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement). Authors must provide information on housing conditions, experimental protocols, and measures taken to minimize animal suffering.
The processing of confidential and personal data must comply with the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection” and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Data must be anonymized or de-identified. Authors must describe data protection mechanisms and access control procedures.
The editorial board reserves the right to request copies of ethical approvals, informed consent forms, research protocols, or other documents to verify compliance with ethical standards.
The journal may refuse publication if ethical requirements have not been met or if documentation is incomplete.
If ethical violations are identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate editorial actions, ranging from corrections to full retraction of the article. Decisions will be made in accordance with COPE guidelines.
