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Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Editorial Policies

Contents

Editorial Policies

The Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (MJAIH) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. The journal follows the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other internationally recognized standards governing scholarly publishing.

Submission of a manuscript signifies that all listed authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript, agree to its submission, and confirm compliance with the journal’s ethical and editorial policies.

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Author Affiliations

All authors must provide complete and accurate institutional affiliations to properly acknowledge the institutions involved in supporting or conducting the research.

Non-research articles must include the author’s current institutional affiliation.

If an author has changed institutions prior to publication, both the affiliation at the time of the research and the current affiliation must be indicated.

Authors without an institutional affiliation must be identified as independent researchers.

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Appeals and Complaints

Appeals

The Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (MJAIH) welcomes well-founded appeals against editorial decisions. Appeals should be submitted only where the authors believe that a decision was based on a significant misunderstanding of the manuscript, an error in the evaluation process, or important information that was not adequately considered during review. Appeals must not be based solely on disagreement with the editorial judgment or the recommendation of the reviewers.

Authors submitting an appeal should provide a clear and reasoned explanation, together with a detailed response to the editorial and reviewer comments where relevant. Any new evidence or clarification that is central to the appeal should be included at the time of submission. The journal will consider appeals only where they raise substantive issues that may affect the scientific, ethical, or procedural basis of the original decision.

Because editorial decisions are made after careful assessment by the editors and peer reviewers, appeals are expected to be exceptional. In many cases, where a manuscript has been declined on the basis of fit, priority, or overall editorial assessment, authors may be advised to submit their work to a more suitable journal.

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Complaints

Complaints concerning the editorial or publication process may include, but are not limited to, authorship disputes, concerns about conflicts of interest, peer review concerns, procedural fairness, publication ethics issues, or matters raised after publication. Such complaints must be submitted to the Editors-in-Chief, who will review the matter and gather the relevant information needed to assess the case fairly and objectively.

All complaints will be handled in accordance with relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Where appropriate, the journal may request explanations, supporting documentation, or clarification from the authors, reviewers, editors, or other relevant parties. If necessary, the peer review or publication process may be suspended while the matter is under investigation.

If a complaint involves one or both Editors-in-Chief, the case will be handled by senior members of the Editorial Board who are not connected to the matter. They will oversee the assessment and determine the appropriate course of action in an impartial manner.

Where a complaint involves matters that fall primarily within the responsibility of an author’s institution, employer, ethics committee, or other external body, the journal may refer the matter to the appropriate authority or await the outcome of an institutional investigation before reaching a final decision.

First Point of Contact

Appeals and complaints should be submitted to the Editorial Office at

The journal should acknowledge receipt of the correspondence within 7 working days and will make every reasonable effort to address the matter promptly, fairly, and confidentially.

MJAIH is committed to handling appeals and complaints in a transparent, impartial, and responsible manner, with due regard for publication ethics, procedural fairness, and the integrity of the scholarly record.

Acknowledgments

Contributors who do not meet the journal’s authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately. Technical, editorial, administrative, or institutional support should also be clearly recognized. Funding information and other financial disclosures should be provided in the dedicated Funding section of the manuscript. Authors should ensure that all individuals named in the Acknowledgments section have agreed to be acknowledged.

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Authorship

Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contribution and accountability. To qualify as an author, individuals must:

  1. Make significant contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
  2. Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
  3. Approve the final version of the manuscript prior to submission and publication.
  4. Accept responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the work.

Funding acquisition, routine data collection, or general supervision alone do not justify authorship. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately.

Any changes to authorship, whether before or after publication, require a justified explanation and written agreement from all authors. Post-publication changes will be documented formally.

Authors are encouraged to provide a detailed contribution statement, and use of the CRediT taxonomy is recommended.

Citations and Referencing

Manuscripts must include references that are accurate, relevant, and balanced, and that appropriately reflect the existing scholarly literature. Authors should avoid unnecessary or excessive citation of their own work, the journal, or particular authors where this is not academically justified. Any form of citation manipulation, including inappropriate self-citation or citation practices intended to influence citation-based metrics, is considered unethical and will be handled in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.

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Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial competing interests that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, its interpretation, or its publication. These may include personal, professional, institutional, or commercial relationships or activities.

If no competing interests exist, authors must state: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

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Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

The Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (MJAIH) is committed to preserving the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the scholarly record. When concerns arise after publication, the journal will assess the matter carefully and take appropriate action in accordance with relevant COPE guidance and established standards of responsible scholarly publishing.

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Corrections

A correction may be issued when a published article contains an error or omission that affects the accuracy, clarity, or completeness of the scholarly record but does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions of the work. Corrections may relate to factual inaccuracies, author details, data presentation, figure labeling, or other aspects of the published article that require amendment. Any correction will clearly explain the nature of the change and will be permanently linked to the original article.

Expressions of Concern

An expression of concern may be issued when serious and credible questions are raised about a published article, but the available information is not yet sufficient to support a final editorial decision, or an investigation by the journal or a relevant institution is still ongoing. In such circumstances, the journal may publish a notice in order to alert readers to the concern while maintaining fairness to all parties until the matter has been resolved.

Retractions

A retraction may be issued when a published article is found to be unreliable, whether because of research or publication misconduct, such as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research practices, or because of a significant honest error that undermines the validity of the work. Retraction notices will clearly state the reason for the retraction and will be permanently linked to the original article. The original article will remain part of the scholarly record but will be clearly marked as retracted.

In all cases, decisions relating to corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions are made by the Editors-in-Chief in accordance with relevant COPE guidance and, where appropriate, in consultation with authors, reviewers, institutions, or other relevant parties. All such notices will be made openly available in order to support transparency, accountability, and trust in the published record.

Confidentiality

All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. Access is limited to editors, reviewers, and relevant editorial staff involved in the editorial and peer-review process. In cases of suspected misconduct, the journal may share relevant information with appropriate ethics committees, institutions, or other responsible bodies in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.

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MJAIH is an open-access journal publishing content under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Authors retain copyright of their published work.

Readers may read, download, copy, share, adapt, and reuse the content for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate attribution is given, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.

By publishing in the journal, authors grant the publisher a non-exclusive right to publish, distribute, and archive the work.

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Data Sharing Policy

The journal supports transparency and reproducibility in research. Authors are encouraged to make the data supporting their findings publicly available whenever possible, unless this is prevented by legal, ethical, privacy, or confidentiality restrictions.

Authors are encouraged to include a Data Availability Statement explaining, where applicable, what data are available, where they can be accessed, and under what conditions. This may include:

  • data available in a public repository;
  • data available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request;
  • data included in the article or supplementary material;
  • data not publicly available due to legal, ethical, privacy, or confidentiality restrictions; or
  • no new data were generated or analyzed in the study.

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Desk Rejection Policy

Submissions may be rejected prior to peer review if they:

  • fall outside the journal’s scope;
  • contain ethical concerns, plagiarism, or other serious integrity issues;
  • lack sufficient novelty, relevance, or scientific impact;
  • exhibit major methodological or reporting flaws;
  • fail to meet the journal’s submission, formatting, or language requirements; or
  • do not meet the journal’s minimum quality standards for external review.

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Misconduct Policy

The Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (MJAIH) takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously. Any conduct that compromises the integrity, reliability, originality, or ethical acceptability of submitted or published work will be assessed carefully and handled in accordance with relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The journal is committed to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record and to ensuring that all concerns are addressed fairly, consistently, and confidentially.

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Types of Misconduct

Misconduct may include any action or omission that undermines the integrity of the research record or the fairness of the editorial and peer-review process. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Plagiarism: The use of another person’s words, ideas, data, figures, or finding without proper acknowledgment or appropriate citation.
  • Data Fabrication and Falsification: The invention, manipulation, selective alteration, or misrepresentation of data, results, analyses, or findings. Authors must ensure that all reported data are accurate, complete, and capable of verification.
  • Image Manipulation: Inappropriate alteration of figures, medical images, graphical outputs, or visual data in a manner that misrepresents the original information or affects scientific or clinical interpretation.
  • Citation Manipulation: The use of inappropriate, excessive, or irrelevant citations intended to inflate citation counts, journal metrics, or author metrics rather than support the scholarly content of the manuscript.
  • Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Failure to disclose financial, professional, institutional, personal, or commercial interests that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, its interpretation, or its publication.
  • Duplicate Submission or Redundant Publication: Submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time, or publication of substantially overlapping material without full disclosure and proper editorial approval.
  • Improper Authorship Attribution: Inclusion of individuals who do not meet authorship criteria, exclusion of individuals who do, or other misrepresentation of contributions to the work.
  • Peer-Review Manipulation: Any attempt to interfere with the integrity of the peer-review process, including the use of false reviewer identities, fabricated reviewer reports, inappropriate influence on editorial decisions, or other forms of systematic manipulation.
  • Ethical or Regulatory Non-Compliance: Failure to obtain required ethics approval, informed consent, patient consent for publication, permission for restricted datasets, or other required approvals relevant to the conduct and reporting of the research.

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Translated or Secondary Publications

Translated or secondary publication may be considered only where full disclosure is made to the Editors, the original publication is clearly acknowledged, and any necessary permission has been obtained from the original publisher or rights holder. Failure to disclose prior publication or related dissemination may be treated as misconduct.

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Handling Allegations of Misconduct

When an allegation of misconduct is received, the journal will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether the concern falls within the scope of research or publication misconduct and whether there is sufficient basis for further review.

Where appropriate, the journal may request explanations, original data, supporting documentation, ethics approvals, consent records, or other relevant materials from the authors. The journal may also consult reviewers, editorial board members, independent experts, institutions, ethics committees, or other responsible bodies where necessary.

All allegations of misconduct will be assessed and handled in accordance with relevant COPE guidance and flowcharts, with due regard for confidentiality, fairness, and the integrity of the scholarly record. Where a case falls primarily within the responsibility of an author’s institution or another external authority, the journal may refer the matter accordingly or await the outcome of an external investigation before reaching a final editorial decision. COPE’s guidance and flowcharts support this kind of documented journal process and cooperation with institutions where appropriate.

If misconduct is confirmed, the journal may take action depending on the seriousness and nature of the case. Such action may include rejection of the manuscript, suspension of the review or publication process, publication of a correction or expression of concern, retraction of a published article, notification of relevant institutions or ethics bodies, and any other appropriate editorial measure.

Where post-publication action is required, any correction, expression of concern, or retraction will be clearly linked to the original article in order to preserve the accuracy and transparency of the scholarly record.

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Funding Disclosure

All sources of funding for the research must be disclosed, including the name of the funding body and, where applicable, the grant number. Under the journal’s updated policy, all new submissions must also state the role of the funder in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the work for publication. If the funder had no involvement in these aspects of the research, this must be explicitly stated.

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Images and Figures

Figures must accurately represent the original data and must not be altered in a way that could mislead readers or affect scientific interpretation. Limited image adjustments may be acceptable only if they are applied appropriately and do not distort, obscure, or selectively misrepresent the original information. Authors must obtain any necessary permission for third-party material and provide proper acknowledgment of the original source. The journal may request original image files or underlying data for verification where necessary.

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Publication Ethics

MJAIH follows relevant COPE guidance in all matters relating to publication ethics. The journal is committed to fairness, transparency, confidentiality, research integrity, and the maintenance of a reliable scholarly record.

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Duties of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

  • Fair and unbiased publication decisions
  • Maintaining confidentiality
  • Managing conflicts of interest
  • Ensuring ethical compliance
  • Correcting errors promptly

Editorial decisions are made independently of authors’ nationality, gender, or institutional affiliation.

Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

  • Provide objective, evidence-based evaluations
  • Maintain confidentiality
  • Declare conflicts of interest
  • Identify relevant uncited work
  • Avoid use of generative AI tools during peer review

Duties of Authors

Authors must:

  • Present accurate and original research
  • Avoid plagiarism and duplicate submission
  • Disclose conflicts of interest
  • Ensure proper authorship attribution
  • Notify the journal of significant post-publication errors

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Peer Review Process

1. Peer Review Management

The journal employs a robust double-blind peer review system, managed through our dedicated editorial platform. This ensures that the identities of both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the process to maintain objectivity and prevent bias.

2. Reviewer Selection and Expertise

Reviewers are carefully selected by the Editorial Board based on their specific expertise, academic publication record, and h-index within the relevant subject area. We prioritize reviewers who have no recent collaborative history with the authors to ensure total independence.

3. Number of Reviewers

Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two (2) independent external experts. In cases where reviewer recommendations are significantly contradictory, a third reviewer is appointed, or a senior member of the Editorial Board acts as an adjudicator to make the final determination.

4. Reviewer Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest

  • Confidentiality: All manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. Reviewers are strictly prohibited from sharing, citing, or using any data from the unpublished work.
  • Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest (financial, personal, or professional) before accepting an assignment. If a conflict exists, the reviewer is recused immediately.

5. Expected Review Timelines

We aim to provide authors with an initial decision within 4 to 6 weeks of submission. Reviewers are typically given 21 days to complete their evaluation, with reminders sent to ensure a streamlined process for our authors.

6. Editorial Decision-Making

The final decision to accept, revise, or reject a manuscript rests with the Editor-in-Chief or a designated Section Editor. This decision is informed by the reviewer reports but also considers the paper's alignment with the journal's scope and its overall contribution to the field.

7. Ethical Oversight and Expert Consultation

In accordance with COPE’s Principles of Transparency, for submissions involving sensitive ethical or societal implications, the journal may seek additional consultation from specialized ethics committees or international advisory experts to ensure the highest standards of integrity.

Plagiarism

The Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (MJAIH) enforces a strict anti-plagiarism policy. The journal does not tolerate the use of others’ ideas, text, figures, or research findings without appropriate citation and clear attribution. Any form of plagiarism, whether direct copying, close paraphrasing, or unattributed reuse of previously published material, will be treated as a serious breach of publication ethics.

Manuscripts containing plagiarism, duplicate submission, redundant publication, or undisclosed text recycling may be rejected before entering formal peer review. Authors must ensure that any reused material from their earlier publications is properly cited, transparently disclosed, and justified where necessary, with the new contribution clearly distinguished.

To safeguard originality, all submissions are screened using plagiarism-detection software before peer review. Similarity reports are assessed by the editorial team on a case-by-case basis, and manuscripts showing problematic overlap or other evidence of unethical reuse may be declined. The corresponding author remains fully accountable for the integrity of the submission throughout evaluation and publication and serves as the authorized representative of all co-authors during communication with the journal.

MJAIH does not treat recognized preprints as prior publication. Authors should ensure that any preprint posting is disclosed in accordance with the journal’s preprint policy.

Preprints Policy

MJAIH allows authors to share their manuscripts on recognized preprint servers before submission, during peer review, and after acceptance. Posting a preprint does not compromise eligibility for submission to the journal, provided that the preprint is disclosed transparently at the time of submission in accordance with the journal’s submission requirements.

After publication, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record by adding the full citation and a link to the final version of record using the article’s DOI. This helps ensure accurate citation, improves discoverability, and directs readers to the peer-reviewed published version.

Authors may also update the preprint repository record with the accepted manuscript, where this is compatible with the journal’s licensing, copyright, and open-access terms. Authors remain responsible for ensuring that any version shared as a preprint does not violate confidentiality, privacy, copyright, or other ethical requirements.

MJAIH requires all submitted research to comply with applicable ethical, legal, and institutional requirements. Ethical compliance is assessed during editorial screening and may be re-evaluated during peer review. For studies involving human participants, animals, plants, biological samples, protected or restricted datasets, or non-public collections or sites, the manuscript must include information on Ethics Approval identifying the approving ethics committee, institutional review board, or other relevant authority, together with the approval or reference number where applicable. Where formal ethics approval was not required, the basis for that determination must be explained. Failure to provide complete and appropriate ethics information may result in rejection prior to peer review.

Protection of Patients’ and Participants’ Privacy

Because MJAIH publishes research in healthcare and clinical domains, protecting patient and participant privacy is essential. Manuscripts must not include names, initials, hospital numbers, recognizable photographs, identifiable diagnostic images, pedigrees, or other information that could reasonably reveal identity unless inclusion of such material is scientifically justified and explicit written informed consent for publication has been obtained from the individual or, where applicable, from a parent or legal guardian. Authors are responsible for removing direct and indirect identifiers from the manuscript, figures, tables, and supplementary materials unless publication of such information has been specifically authorized through informed consent. If anonymity is uncertain, consent for publication must be obtained. The manuscript must include a statement confirming that informed consent for publication was obtained where applicable. Individuals giving consent should be informed that the material may be published online in an open-access journal under the CC BY 4.0 license and may remain publicly accessible after publication.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and recognized principles for medical and health research, including the Declaration of Helsinki where relevant. Authors must obtain ethics approval before the study begins, unless a formal exemption applies, and must state whether informed consent was obtained or waived. Manuscripts should identify the approving body and provide the approval number where applicable. Participant privacy and confidentiality must be protected throughout the research and reporting process. Where relevant to study design, analysis, or interpretation, authors should use the terms sex and gender correctly and report them appropriately. If vulnerable populations are involved, the manuscript should describe any additional safeguards applied.

Research Involving Animals

Animal studies must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international requirements relating to animal welfare and ethical review. Manuscripts must provide the name of the approving ethics body and the approval number or identifier, justify the use of animals and species selection where relevant, and describe measures taken to minimize pain, suffering, and distress, including anesthesia, analgesia, and euthanasia procedures where applicable. Authors should also ensure transparent reporting of animal research in line with the ARRIVE guidelines. Studies that do not meet animal welfare and ethical approval standards will not be considered for publication.

Research Involving Plants and Biological Materials

Research involving plants, plant-derived materials, or other regulated biological materials must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international requirements. Where collection, transfer, or use of such materials requires permissions, licenses, or other compliance measures, authors must confirm that these were obtained and provide relevant details in the manuscript where appropriate. Where relevant, authors should also confirm compliance with applicable biodiversity and conservation requirements.

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Special Issues

MJAIH may publish Special Issues to highlight emerging and high-impact themes in Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, such as clinical decision support, AI safety, medical imaging AI, genomics AI, natural language processing in healthcare, remote monitoring, and healthcare ethics and regulation. All Special Issue submissions are subject to the same editorial standards, peer-review procedures, and ethical requirements as regular submissions. Special Issues do not represent a faster or easier route to publication.

Appointment of Guest Editors

Guest Editors are selected on the basis of scientific expertise, editorial experience, and research reputation in relevant healthcare AI domains. Nominations may be submitted by Editorial Board members, current editors, or through self-nomination. All appointments require approval by the Editor-in-Chief. Guest Editors are responsible for:

  • defining the scope and aims of the Special Issue;
  • preparing and promoting the call for papers;
  • assisting in the management of a fair and rigorous peer-review process;
  • coordinating revisions and making editorial recommendations; and
  • ensuring compliance with MJAIH’s ethical and editorial policies.

Guest Editors must not handle manuscripts where a conflict of interest exists. In such cases, the manuscript will be managed by the Editor-in-Chief or another appropriate editor. Final publication decisions remain under the authority of the Editor-in-Chief.

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Special Issue Proposal Process

To propose a Special Issue, a formal proposal must be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief and should include:

  • the theme and scientific rationale;
  • the intended audience and expected impact;
  • the names and qualifications of the proposed Guest Editor(s); and
  • a proposed timeline, including submission deadlines, review milestones, and the publication plan.

Upon approval, calls for papers will be announced through the journal website and other appropriate academic communication channels.

Editorial and Review Process for Special Issues

Manuscripts submitted to a Special Issue are handled through the journal’s standard submission and peer-review system and are assessed according to the same quality, originality, and ethics criteria as regular submissions. The review process normally includes:

  1. initial editorial screening for fit, quality, and compliance;
  2. peer review by at least two independent experts;
  3. revision with structured responses to reviewers’ comments; and
  4. final recommendation by the Guest Editors and final decision by the Editor-in-Chief.

Accepted manuscripts proceed through copyediting, production, and publication in accordance with MJAIH’s standard procedures. Special Issue performance may also be reviewed periodically to support quality assurance and continuous improvement.

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Standards of Reporting

MJAIH strongly encourages transparent and reproducible reporting. Authors should provide clear, comprehensive descriptions of research objectives, datasets, methods, model development, validation strategies, and analysis workflows.

For AI-based healthcare studies, reporting should also address, where applicable:

  • dataset provenance and ethical permissions,
  • bias and fairness considerations,
  • model interpretability and clinical usability,
  • validation (internal/external), and
  • limitations and safety concerns in real-world deployment.

Authors are encouraged to follow the reporting guideline most appropriate to the study design, where applicable, such as CONSORT-AI, SPIRIT-AI, TRIPOD+AI, STARD-AI, DECIDE-AI, or CLAIM. Further information on these reporting guidelines and their extensions can be found through the EQUATOR Network.

Use of Third-Party Material

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reuse any third-party copyrighted material included in their manuscript, unless the material is clearly covered by a licence or exception that permits such reuse. This includes text extracts, figures, tables, photographs, screenshots, datasets, and supplementary content. Where applicable, permission must allow publication of the material in an open-access journal under the journal’s licensing terms. Proper acknowledgment of the original source must be provided in the manuscript. For assistance regarding permissions, authors may contact: .

Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

The Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (MJAIH) recognizes that generative AI and other AI-assisted technologies may be used in scholarly work in different ways. Because the journal publishes research in artificial intelligence in healthcare, it is especially important that any such use is reported clearly, used responsibly, and does not compromise authorship, research integrity, confidentiality, or the reliability of the scholarly record.

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Use of AI in Manuscript Preparation

Authors may use generative AI or AI-assisted tools for limited support in manuscript preparation, such as improving language, grammar, clarity, structure, or readability. Such tools must not replace the authors’ own intellectual contribution, scientific judgment, or responsibility for the content of the work.

Authors remain fully responsible for reviewing, verifying, and editing any AI-assisted output to ensure that the manuscript is accurate, original, appropriately referenced, and free from misleading statements, unsupported claims, or inappropriate bias. AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors, as they cannot take responsibility for the work, approve the final manuscript, or meet authorship criteria.

Use of AI as Part of the Research

Where generative AI or AI-assisted technologies form part of the research itself, rather than merely assisting with writing or language editing, this must be reported clearly and transparently in the manuscript. In such cases, the use of AI should be described in the Methods section in sufficient detail to allow proper evaluation of the work.

This description should identify, where applicable, the name of the tool or model, version, developer or provider, the purpose for which it was used, the data or inputs involved, relevant parameters or settings, the role of human oversight, and the steps taken to validate outputs and manage limitations, bias, privacy, or other risks. Authors remain fully responsible for the scientific validity, ethical acceptability, and reproducibility of any work in which AI tools are used.

Figures, Images, and Data Presentation

Generative AI must not be used to create, alter, enhance, or manipulate figures, images, or other visual materials in a way that could misrepresent underlying data, observations, or findings. Any use of AI-based tools in image analysis, signal processing, annotation, or other research procedures must be described transparently in the Methods section, together with sufficient detail to allow editorial and peer review assessment.

Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose any material use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript. Where AI is used only for writing or language editing, the disclosure should be included in a suitable declaration within the manuscript. Where AI is used as part of the research, the use must be described in the Methods section and, where appropriate, also reflected in the relevant declarations. Routine tools that do not generate substantive content, such as standard spelling, grammar, or reference-management software, do not normally require disclosure.

Responsible Use, Confidentiality, and Rights

Authors must ensure that any use of AI tools complies with applicable requirements relating to confidentiality, privacy, copyright, data protection, and research ethics. Confidential, sensitive, unpublished, or third-party material must not be entered into external AI systems unless the authors are authorized to do so and appropriate protections are in place.

Use of AI in Peer Review

To protect confidentiality, authors’ rights, and the integrity of peer review, reviewers must not upload manuscripts, in whole or in part, into generative AI systems or use such tools to summarize, assess, or rewrite review reports in a manner that compromises confidentiality or independent expert judgment. Peer review is a human intellectual responsibility, and reviewers remain fully responsible for the accuracy, fairness, and integrity of their reports.

Internal Editorial and Administrative Use

MJAIH may use secure, identity-protected AI-assisted tools for limited internal editorial or administrative purposes, such as submission checks, plagiarism screening, workflow support, or reviewer identification, provided that such use is consistent with confidentiality, privacy, and responsible editorial practice. Such tools must not replace independent editorial judgment in decisions relating to peer review, acceptance, rejection, correction, or retraction.

Policy Development

Because AI technologies continue to evolve rapidly, MJAIH may review and revise this policy as needed to maintain appropriate standards of transparency, accountability, confidentiality, and ethical publishing.

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