Editorial Mission & Code of Conduct
In the pursuit of publishing high-caliber, peer-reviewed research, the Editorial Board and peer review panel of the Journal of Women and Child Health (JoWaCH) collaborate diligently. The collective efforts of our expert editors and reviewers are dedicated to elevating manuscripts to meet rigorous scientific publication standards, transforming clinical observations and epidemiological evidence into actionable insights for maternal, neonatal, and pediatric care.
Roles & Responsibilities of Journal Team Officials
The editorial board of JoWaCH upholds the confidentiality and scientific accuracy of manuscripts throughout the publication process. Our esteemed editorial team, comprising leading professionals from national and international institutions, plays a crucial role in maintaining the journal's commitment to scholarly excellence:
Editor-in-Chief
Sets the overall vision and direction for the journal; develops and implements editorial policies and procedures; oversees the selection of reviewers; makes final decisions on manuscript acceptance or rejection; represents the journal to the academic community and public.
Executive Editor
Oversees editorial direction ensuring alignment with standards; manages high-level decisions regarding controversial or groundbreaking submissions; leads strategic growth and long-term plans; oversees Managing and Section Editors; represents JoWaCH in external collaborations and partnerships.
Managing Editor
Directs day-to-day operations; manages submission, peer review, copyediting, and production workflows; communicates with authors, referees, and editors; oversees Technical Editors; maintains web infrastructure and reports performance metrics to leadership.
Section & Technical Editors
Section Editors manage peer review within specialized sub-disciplines and advise handling decisions. Technical Editors inspect submissions for grammatical accuracy, verify formatting compliance with JoWaCH typography, and eliminate technical errors in data presentation.
National & International Editorial Advisory Team
Provides expert advice and guidance to the core editorial team; regularly reviews content and policy efficacy; advises on emerging global healthcare trends; serves as ambassadors seeking out high-quality submissions worldwide.
Editorial Code of Conduct Principles
- Ethical Conduct & Independence: All editors strictly adhere to the Editors' Code of Conduct. Decisions are made purely on scientific quality, originality, and clinical relevance.
- Continuous Improvement: Editors actively solicit feedback from authors, readers, reviewers, and board members to refine submission and review workflows.
- Resource Allocation & Integrity Support: JoWaCH provides adequate training, biostatistical tools, and plagiarism screening to maintain uncompromising rigor.
- Misconduct & Policy Management: Editors guide handling teams in investigating suspected misconduct following established ethical protocols.
- Reviewer Oversight: Instructions for peer reviewers are regularly updated; reviewers are required to disclose any potential conflict of interest prior to evaluation.
Publication Ethics Policy
The Journal of Women and Child Health (JoWaCH) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. We strictly adhere to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and ICMJE’s Recommendations for Editorial & Publishing Issues to ensure integrity, transparency, and ethical practice across every stage of our editorial pipeline.
1. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors must present an accurate, truthful account of original research conducted, accompanied by an objective discussion of its scientific significance. Underlying data must be represented accurately without selective reporting.
- Originality & Plagiarism: Manuscripts must be original. Plagiarism in any form constitutes unacceptable misconduct.
- Concurrent Submissions: Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is unethical and strictly prohibited.
- Ethical Approval & IRB Reference: Research involving human participants must explicitly state Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee approval, including the assigned reference number and date of issue.
2. Responsibilities of Editors
Editors maintain absolute editorial independence, evaluating submissions solely on academic merit, scientific rigor, and relevance, regardless of the authors' race, gender, citizenship, or political philosophy. Editors guarantee strict confidentiality during double-blind peer review and recuse themselves in cases of potential conflicts of interest.
3. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Referees assist editorial decision-making through objective, constructive, and prompt evaluations. Submissions received for review are treated as strictly confidential. Reviewers must highlight relevant uncited work and immediately declare any competing financial or personal interests.
4. Responsibilities of the Publisher
The House of Quantum Networks (THoQN) ensures permanent preservation of published literature, safeguards intellectual property rights, and works alongside editors to investigate allegations of scientific misconduct strictly in accordance with COPE Guidelines.
Open Access Policy & CC BY 4.0 Licensing
JoWaCH is dedicated to immediate Gold Open Access. All published content—including original research, systematic reviews, short communications, and editorials—is freely accessible on the JoWaCH website immediately upon publication without paywalls.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Published content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Refer to the full license legal code.
User Rights: Readers are free to copy, distribute, adapt, and build upon published materials for commercial and non-commercial purposes, provided proper credit is given to original authors with formal DOI citations.
Author Rights & Copyright Retention: Authors retain full copyright under a non-exclusive license agreement, granting JoWaCH primary publication and distribution rights.
Copyright Permissions & Re-use of Pre-published Material
JoWaCH cannot disseminate content derived from previously published work without formal authorization. Authors must obtain copyright permission for significant text extractions or unmodified tables/figures from prior copyright holders. Tables and figures that are completely redesigned and cited do not require explicit permissions.
Peer Review Policy & Reviewer Guidelines
JoWaCH operates a strict Double-Blind Peer Review model to guarantee utmost objectivity. Refer to our comprehensive peer-review policy. Both author and reviewer identities are concealed throughout evaluation.
Initial Screening
Handling Editors check scope, technical formatting, and similarity index.
Double-Blind Review
Evaluated by at least 2–3 independent subject-matter experts.
Editorial Decision
Accept, Resubmit with Revisions, or Reject based on peer reports.
Reviewer Recognition & Post-Acceptance Proofing Rule
Reviewers are acknowledged through official review certificates issued from jowach@thequantumnetworks.com. Interested experts can Register online to join our referee panel.
- Updates to Accepted Manuscripts: Once an article is accepted and final proofs receive author approval, no further modifications can be applied. Any subsequent changes require a formal erratum.
Scientific Misconduct & Plagiarism
JoWaCH enforces zero tolerance for scientific misconduct. Extensive measures are implemented in accordance with COPE instructions to avoid data fabrication, falsification, image manipulation, citation manipulation, and plagiarism.
Plagiarism & Similarity Index Threshold
All manuscripts undergo automated plagiarism screening prior to peer review. Submissions exhibiting a Similarity Index of more than 15% will be immediately rejected without editorial review.
Data Fabrication & Image Manipulation
Deceptive manipulation of graphs, photographs, microscopic fields, or statistical outputs constitutes grave misconduct. Unprocessed raw data files may be requested at any time.
Preventing Redundant / Salami Publications
Fragmenting single study datasets into multiple papers to artificially inflate publication count is strictly prohibited under COPE publishing practices. Duplicating demographics across studies compromises clinical evidence.
Ethical Oversight, Patient Confidentiality & Image Standards
At JoWaCH, we adhere strictly to the COPE Guidelines of Ethical Oversight and the ICMJE’s Recommendations for Editorial & Publishing Issues. For research involving human or animal subjects, authors must confirm adherence to International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) standards and the Helsinki Declaration.
Clinical trials must be registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov in accordance with ICMJE criteria before patient enrollment. For detailed information, please Check Journal Policy Page.
Informed Consent Guidelines
- Explicit written informed consent is required for presenting identifiable clinical data or case details.
- For minors under 18 years or incapacitated individuals, consent must be obtained from parents or legal guardians.
- Obscuring or blurring eye bars alone is discouraged as it is insufficient to protect privacy.
Image Resolution & DPI Specifications
- Color Figures: Minimum resolution of 300 DPI.
- Greyscale Images: Minimum resolution of 600 DPI.
- Line Art & Diagrams: Minimum resolution of 1200 DPI.
- Avoid Photoshop cloning/healing tools or extreme contrast manipulation.
Research Reporting Guidelines
JoWaCH mandates adherence to international reporting frameworks to ensure reproducibility and scientific rigor across diverse study designs:
| Study Design | Reporting Framework | Key Focus & Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Randomized Trials | The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement | Trial design, participant selection, interventions, and outcomes. |
| Observational Studies | The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines | Cohort, case-control, cross-sectional design and bias management. |
| Quality Improvement Projects | The Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) guidelines | Framework for reporting quality improvement interventions in healthcare. |
| Systematic Reviews | The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement | Search strategy, eligibility criteria, and meta-analytic methods. |
| Diagnostic Accuracy | The Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) guidelines | Index test vs. reference standard comparison and sensitivity/specificity. |
| Case Reports | The Case Reports (CARE) guidelines | Patient timeline, clinical presentation, and therapeutic outcomes. |
| Clinical Practice Guidelines | The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) principles | Trustworthy clinical practice guideline development and transparency. |
Data Availability Policy
Following COPE guidelines, JoWaCH mandates that authors share raw underlying data essential for reproducing reported research findings.
Preprints & Media Embargo Policy
JoWaCH supports pre-submission posting on non-profit servers (bioRxiv, medRxiv, arXiv). Authors must disclose preprint server details and DOI during initial submission. Post-publication, preprint records must update attribution to the final published article:
"This article has been published in [insert full citation] following peer review and can also be viewed on the journal’s website at [insert DOI]."
Competing Interests & Funding Disclosures
Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose all financial (grants, stocks, consultations, patents) and non-financial (academic, personal, political) conflicts of interest prior to manuscript handling. Mandatory funding statements are included in article metadata.
Editorial Independence Statement
Published by The House of Quantum Networks (THoQN), JoWaCH operates with absolute editorial autonomy. THoQN maintains a strict non-interference policy regarding daily editorial evaluations and acceptance decisions.
Corrections & Crossmark Protocol
JoWaCH participates in the Crossmark initiative to provide a standardized mechanism for alerting readers to published content updates, errata, corrigenda, or retractions in accordance with ICMJE guidelines.
Post-publication critiques, comments, or letters to the editor are reviewed by a designated ethics panel and handled according to Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) core practices.
Post-Review Retraction Protocol
To maintain the integrity of peer review and prevent unethical submission practices, JoWaCH enforces strict rules regarding manuscript withdrawal requests submitted after review has commenced, adhering strictly to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Revenue Model & Financial Sustainability
JoWaCH operates on a self-sustaining financial model supported by The House of Quantum Networks (THoQN). Publication operations, DOI registration fees, copyediting, web infrastructure, and PKP PN archiving are sustained through transparent Article Processing Charges (APCs) and institutional memberships.
Advertising Policy & Order Form
JoWaCH accepts institutional and academic advertising aligned with health ethics. Commercial interests never influence editorial decisions. Harmful or offensive ad content is strictly prohibited.
Advertising Order Query Form
Archiving & Metadata Registry
JoWaCH relies on the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) for digital preservation under Open Journal Systems (OJS). Archival redundancy is maintained through Archives Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and the Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Center (PASTIC).
| Journal URL | https://www.jowach.com/ |
| Full Title | Journal of Women and Child Health (JoWaCH) |
| Publisher | The House of Quantum Networks (THoQN) |
| SECP Registration No. | 0248644 (Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan) |
| ISSN (e) | 3006-760X |
| Official Email | jowach@thequantumnetworks.com |