Conflicts of Interest Policy

Impact Surgery is committed to transparency and integrity in the reporting and evaluation of research. The journal requires that potential conflicts of interest are disclosed and managed appropriately to ensure that editorial decisions and published content are not unduly influenced by competing interests. This policy describes how conflicts of interest are identified, declared, and managed by authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members.

Definition of conflicts of interest

A conflict of interest exists when professional judgement concerning a primary interest, such as the integrity of research or editorial decision-making, could be influenced by a secondary interest. Conflicts may be financial or non-financial and may arise from personal, professional, academic, or institutional relationships. The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply wrongdoing. Transparency allows readers and editors to assess the potential influence of competing interests.

Author conflicts of interest

All authors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest at the time of submission. This includes financial relationships, employment, consultancies, honoraria, equity interests, patents, advisory roles, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the work. Authors must include a conflicts of interest statement in the manuscript. Where no conflicts exist, this should be stated explicitly. Disclosures should reflect the situation at the time the research was conducted and at the time of submission. Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may result in editorial action, including rejection, correction, or retraction.

Wherever possible, Editors do not handle submissions in which they have a conflict of interest, including their own work, submissions from close collaborators, or submissions from the same institution; such manuscripts are assigned to an alternative editor when capacity allows.

Reviewer conflicts of interest

Reviewers are expected to declare any potential conflicts of interest before agreeing to review a manuscript. Reviewers should decline invitations where a conflict could impair their objectivity, including situations involving close collaboration, supervisory relationships, direct competition, or financial interests related to the work. Where a potential conflict is identified during the review process, reviewers are expected to inform the editorial team promptly so that appropriate action can be taken.

Editor and editorial board conflicts of interest

Editors and editorial board members are required to declare relevant conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict exists. This includes manuscripts submitted by colleagues from the same institution, close collaborators, or where there is any other relationship that could reasonably be perceived to influence editorial judgement. Where an editor is conflicted, responsibility for the manuscript is reassigned to another editor to ensure independence and fairness.

Management of conflicts of interest

The editorial team assesses disclosed conflicts of interest and determines how they should be managed. Management strategies may include additional editorial oversight, reassignment of editorial responsibility, disclosure to readers, or other proportionate measures. Disclosed conflicts of interest are considered as part of editorial decision-making but do not automatically preclude publication.

Transparency to readers

Relevant conflicts of interest declared by authors are published alongside the article so that readers can assess the potential influence of competing interests. Editorial or reviewer conflicts are managed internally and are not routinely disclosed unless they are directly relevant to the published content.

Post-publication issues

If undisclosed conflicts of interest come to light after publication, the journal will investigate the matter and may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction where appropriate, in line with its published policies.