Qanun Medika - Medical Journal Faculty of Medicine Muhammadiyah Surabaya is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, and integrity throughout the research, peer-review, editorial, and publication processes. All authors, reviewers, editors, editorial staff, and the publisher are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence, or appear to influence, their work or decisions. This policy follows COPE Core Practice 4: Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests, which requires journals to establish clear definitions and procedures for managing competing interests before and after publication.

A conflict of interest, also referred to as a competing interest, occurs when personal, financial, professional, institutional, intellectual, or other relationships could improperly influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, an individual's judgment, actions, or decisions in the publication process. Conflicts may be actual, potential, or perceived and must be disclosed even when the individual believes that the conflict has not affected their judgment. This approach is consistent with the COPE Core Practices and the COPE discussion document on Handling Competing Interests.

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

a. Financial interests: Employment, consultancies, honoraria, research grants, sponsorships, stock ownership, paid expert testimony, patents, royalties, or other financial relationships that could be affected by the publication.

b. Personal and professional relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, supervisory relationships, mentorship, recent collaboration, or other professional connections with authors or individuals involved in the manuscript.

c. Academic and intellectual interests: Strong academic positions, competing research interests, professional rivalry, or prior involvement that could affect an individual's impartial assessment of a manuscript.

d. Institutional interests: Affiliations with the same institution, department, research group, or organization that may affect, or appear to affect, editorial judgment.

e. Editorial and organizational interests: Relationships involving editors, reviewers, journal staff, the publisher, or the journal's owner that may affect editorial decisions or the handling of a submission.

These examples reflect the range of competing interests identified in the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers and the COPE Core Practices.

All authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial competing interests when submitting a manuscript. Authors must also declare all sources of funding and explain the role of the funder, where applicable, in study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of findings, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. These requirements are consistent with the COPE Core Practice on Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests.

Authors must ensure that their declarations are complete, accurate, and up to date. If no competing interests exist, authors should include the following statement in their manuscript:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

If competing interests exist, authors must provide a clear statement describing the nature of the relationship or interest. The editorial team may request additional information or clarification where necessary, consistent with the COPE guidance on handling competing interests.

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting a review invitation. Reviewers should decline the invitation when a competing interest could prevent them from providing an impartial assessment, or seek guidance from the editor if they are uncertain whether a conflict exists. This requirement follows the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Reviewers should not accept a review assignment when they are currently employed at the same institution as an author or have a recent close professional relationship with an author, such as a mentor-mentee relationship, close collaboration, or joint grant involvement, where such a relationship could compromise impartiality. Reviewers must promptly inform the editor if a conflict becomes apparent during the review process, as recommended by the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Editors and editorial staff must disclose any competing interests that could affect their handling of a manuscript or their editorial judgment. An editor who has a conflict of interest must not make decisions on the affected manuscript and should refer it to an independent editor who can manage the review and decision-making process objectively. This policy follows the COPE Core Practices on Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests.

Editors and editorial staff must not use unpublished information obtained through manuscript handling or peer review for personal advantage, professional gain, or the benefit of another party. They must maintain the confidentiality of submissions and ensure that competing interests do not undermine editorial independence or the fairness of publication decisions, in accordance with the COPE Guidelines: A Short Guide to Ethical Editing for New Editors.

Conflict-of-interest declarations must be submitted during the manuscript submission process and updated whenever relevant circumstances change. The journal may request further details about the nature, extent, and timing of a competing interest to determine whether additional safeguards are necessary. These procedures follow the COPE discussion document on practical issues for handling competing interests.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may manage a disclosed conflict by assigning an independent editor or reviewer, requiring additional disclosure, documenting the conflict, or taking other appropriate steps to protect the integrity of the editorial process. Disclosure does not automatically mean that a manuscript will be rejected; the journal will assess the nature and possible impact of the conflict on a case-by-case basis, consistent with the COPE Core Practices.

If a previously undisclosed competing interest is identified before publication, the journal may request an explanation and require an appropriate declaration or other corrective action before proceeding. If a competing interest is discovered after publication, the journal will assess the evidence and may publish a correction or other notice to ensure that the publication record is transparent. These procedures are informed by the COPE discussion document on handling competing interests and the COPE Core Practices on Post-publication Discussions and Corrections.

Where an undisclosed conflict raises concerns about research integrity or the reliability of an article, the journal may seek further clarification from the authors or their affiliated institution and take additional action where warranted. Any action will be based on the available evidence and the seriousness of the concern, consistent with the COPE Core Practices.

Relevant competing-interest and funding declarations will be included in the published article where applicable. If no competing interests are declared, the article should include an explicit statement to that effect. The journal aims to ensure that readers can assess relevant relationships that may affect the interpretation of published research, in accordance with the COPE Core Practice on Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests.

Qanun Medika - Medical Journal Faculty of Medicine Muhammadiyah Surabaya is committed to handling competing interests fairly, consistently, and transparently. All authors, reviewers, editors, editorial staff, and the publisher are expected to comply with this policy to safeguard impartial peer review, independent editorial decisions, and public trust in the scholarly record, guided by the COPE Core Practices.