Informed Consent Policy

The Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Medical and Veterinary Sciences (JAIMVS) is committed to the highest standards of ethical research and publication. The journal recognizes informed consent as an essential principle for protecting the rights, privacy, dignity, and welfare of human participants and, where applicable, animal owners and other individuals involved in veterinary research.

1. Ethical Foundation

1.1. Protection of Research Participants

Research involving human participants must respect their autonomy, privacy, safety, and dignity. Participants should receive sufficient information about the research before deciding whether to participate.

1.2. Compliance with Ethical Standards

Authors must comply with applicable national and international ethical requirements and obtain approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), Research Ethics Committee, or equivalent authority where required.

Research involving human participants should follow internationally recognized ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki, where applicable.

2. Informed Consent Process

2.1. Adequate Information

Participants should be provided with clear and understandable information regarding the purpose of the research, procedures, potential risks and benefits, confidentiality, use of their data, and their right to withdraw where applicable.

2.2. Voluntary Participation

Participation must be voluntary. Participants should not be subjected to undue pressure or inappropriate influence when deciding whether to participate.

2.3. Documentation of Consent

Where informed consent is required, authors should obtain and document appropriate consent in accordance with the requirements of the relevant ethics committee and applicable regulations. The journal may request evidence of consent when necessary.

3. Special Considerations

3.1. Vulnerable Participants

Research involving children, individuals with impaired decision-making capacity, or other vulnerable populations must include appropriate additional safeguards. Consent from a legally authorized representative and assent from the participant should be obtained where applicable.

3.2. Publication of Identifiable Information

Authors must obtain appropriate consent for the publication of identifiable photographs, clinical information, medical records, genetic information, or other personal information when required.

4. Artificial Intelligence and Personal Data

Research involving AI, machine learning, or other computational systems must comply with applicable privacy and data-protection requirements.

Authors must ensure that personal, clinical, genetic, or other sensitive information is collected and processed lawfully and securely. Confidential or identifiable participant information should not be entered into publicly accessible AI systems without appropriate authorization and safeguards.

Where AI systems are used to analyze or process human data, authors should clearly describe the relevant data-governance and ethical safeguards.

5. Veterinary Research and Animal Owners

For research involving client-owned animals, appropriate informed consent should be obtained from the animal owner or legal representative when required.

Authors must protect the privacy of animal owners and ensure that identifiable information relating to owners, veterinary patients, farms, or institutions is not published without appropriate authorization.

Research involving animals must also comply with applicable animal-welfare and ethical requirements, as described in the journal's relevant ethical policies.

6. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Authors are responsible for protecting the confidentiality and security of participant information. Identifiable information should be collected, stored, processed, and shared in accordance with applicable ethical, legal, and data-protection requirements.

7. Ethical Statement in Manuscripts

Manuscripts involving human participants should include an appropriate statement confirming ethical approval and informed consent, where applicable.

If informed consent was not required, authors should clearly state the reason and, where appropriate, identify the ethics committee or authority that determined that consent was not required.

8. Authors' Responsibility

Authors are responsible for obtaining all necessary ethical approvals, permissions, and informed consent before submitting their manuscripts to JAIMVS.

Failure to comply with applicable informed-consent or ethical requirements may result in manuscript rejection, investigation, correction, or other appropriate action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.