Privacy Statement

The International Journal of Applied Medical and Health Sciences is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of authors, reviewers, editors, readers, contributors, and visitors to its website. The Journal recognizes the importance of responsible handling of personal information and takes appropriate measures to ensure that such information is collected, processed, stored, and disclosed only for legitimate purposes associated with scholarly publishing and journal administration.

This Privacy Statement describes the principles and practices followed by The Journal in relation to personal information obtained through its website, manuscript submission and editorial systems, correspondence, and other interactions with the Journal.

Information We Collect
The Journal may collect information that individuals voluntarily provide when submitting manuscripts, creating user accounts, participating in peer review, communicating with the editorial office, or using journal services. Such information may include:

·       Full name and professional designation;

·       Institutional or organizational affiliation;

·       Professional email address and other contact details;

·       Country or geographical region;

·       ORCID iD and other researcher identifiers, where provided;

·       Usernames and account-related information;

·       Manuscript, review, editorial, and publication-related information; and

·       Information contained in correspondence with the Journal.

For website security, functionality, and performance purposes, certain technical information may also be collected automatically. This may include IP address, browser and device information, operating system, access times, referring pages, and general website usage information.

Purpose of Processing Information
Personal information is processed only for purposes reasonably connected with the activities and responsibilities of The Journal. These purposes may include:

·       Receiving and administering manuscript submissions;

·       Conducting editorial assessment and peer review;

·       Managing communication with authors, reviewers, editors, and other contributors;

·       Creating and maintaining user accounts;

·       Preparing and publishing accepted scholarly content and associated metadata;

·       Responding to enquiries, requests, and correspondence;

·       Maintaining the functionality, reliability, and security of the Journal's website and editorial systems;

·       Detecting and preventing unauthorized access, misuse, or activities that may compromise the integrity of the publishing process; and

·       Meeting applicable legal, regulatory, administrative, and record-keeping obligations.

The Journal does not process personal information for unrelated commercial purposes or sell personal information to third parties.

Confidentiality and Editorial Privacy
The Journal recognizes the importance of confidentiality throughout the scholarly publishing process. Personal information obtained through manuscript submission, editorial assessment, peer review, and related correspondence is handled with appropriate discretion.

Access to personal information is limited to authorized individuals who require such information to perform legitimate editorial, publishing, technical, or administrative functions. Where confidential peer review is used, information relating to reviewers and the review process is handled in accordance with the Journal's applicable peer-review procedures.

Disclosure and Sharing of Information
The Journal does not sell, rent, or commercially trade personal information.

Information may be disclosed or shared when reasonably necessary to conduct legitimate journal operations, including with:

·       Editors and authorized members of the editorial team;

·       Reviewers assigned to evaluate manuscripts;

·       Technical, hosting, publishing, and other service providers supporting journal operations;

·       Scholarly databases, indexing services, repositories, and archival platforms when publication-related metadata is required;

·       Institutions or organizations where disclosure is necessary for legitimate editorial or publication-related purposes; and

·       Governmental, regulatory, judicial, or law-enforcement authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by applicable law.

Only information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose will be disclosed.

Information Security
The Journal takes reasonable technical, administrative, and organizational precautions to safeguard personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, destruction, or accidental loss.

Security measures may include access controls, account protections, secure communications, restricted administrative access, and appropriate safeguards for the Journal's digital platforms and records. Nevertheless, no internet-based service, electronic transmission, or digital storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Cookies and Similar Technologies
The Journal's website may use cookies and similar technologies to support essential website functions, maintain user sessions, improve security, understand general website usage, and enhance the overall user experience.

Users may manage or disable cookies through their browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the availability or functionality of some features of the Journal's website.

Data Retention
Personal information is retained for an appropriate period based on the purpose for which it was collected and the Journal's editorial, publishing, administrative, legal, and record-preservation requirements.

Information associated with manuscripts, editorial decisions, peer review, correspondence, and published works may be retained as part of the Journal's scholarly and administrative records. Information forming part of the permanent scholarly record, including published article metadata, may be preserved indefinitely.

Individual Requests and Data Rights
Subject to applicable laws and legitimate editorial or administrative requirements, individuals may contact The Journal to request access to personal information held about them or to request correction of information that is inaccurate or incomplete.

Requests should be submitted to the Editorial Office using the official contact details published on the Journal's website. The Journal will consider such requests appropriately and may require sufficient information to verify the identity of the requester before processing a request.

Third-Party Services and External Links
The Journal may use third-party services or provide links to external websites, platforms, repositories, indexing services, or other resources. Such third parties may operate under their own privacy policies and terms of use.

The Journal does not control and is not responsible for the privacy practices, security measures, or content of external websites or third-party services. Users are advised to review the applicable privacy policies before providing personal information to such services.

Privacy of Published Information
As part of its scholarly publishing function, The Journal may publicly display information associated with published articles, such as authors' names, affiliations, ORCID identifiers where provided, article titles, abstracts, references, publication dates, and other bibliographic metadata.

Such information may be distributed through the Journal's website and, where applicable, through indexing, abstracting, citation, repository, and scholarly communication services. Authors should consider the public nature of scholarly publication when submitting information intended for publication.

Changes to This Statement
The Journal may periodically update this Privacy Statement to reflect changes in its publishing practices, technologies, services, legal requirements, or operational procedures.

Any revised version will be published on the Journal's website and will become effective from the date indicated in the updated statement. Users are encouraged to review this page periodically for the latest information regarding the Journal's privacy practices.

Contact
Questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Statement or the handling of personal information may be directed to the Editorial Office through the official contact information provided on the Journal's website.

Commitment to Privacy
The International Journal of Applied Medical and Health Sciences is committed to maintaining responsible, transparent, and secure practices for the handling of personal information. Through appropriate confidentiality measures, reasonable security safeguards, and responsible data practices, The Journal aims to protect the privacy of its scholarly community while supporting a reliable and trustworthy environment for research communication and academic publishing.