Definition and Principles

The Ukrainian Scientific Medical Youth Journal (USMYJ) adheres to a strict policy of transparency regarding potential conflicts of interest.
A conflict of interest arises when an author’s, reviewer’s, or editor’s professional judgment concerning the objectivity or validity of research may be influenced by financial, academic, professional, or personal factors.

All participants in the publication process — authors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher — are required to disclose any real or potential conflicts of interest.

Requirements for Authors

At the time of manuscript submission, all authors must complete and submit the official ICMJE “Disclosure of Interest Form.”
This form is mandatory for consideration of the manuscript.

Authors are required to promptly disclose any conflicts of interest that could be interpreted as influencing the results or interpretation of the study.
Examples of potential conflicts include, but are not limited to:

• Financial conflicts — honoraria, grants, sponsorships, consulting fees, paid expert testimony, stock ownership, patent or licensing arrangements, or participation in advisory boards;
• Non-financial conflicts — personal, academic, or professional relationships, affiliations, beliefs, or interests related to the subject matter of the manuscript;
• Organizational conflicts — involvement in projects or institutions with competing or related interests.

All authors must also disclose all sources of financial support for the research or manuscript preparation (including grant numbers or other identifiers, if applicable).

Requirements for Reviewers and Editors

Reviewers must inform the editorial office if they:

• have financial, academic, or personal ties with any of the authors or their institutions;
• are involved in competing research projects or publications;
• believe that they cannot provide an objective and unbiased review.

Editors who have a conflict of interest regarding a submitted manuscript must recuse themselves from handling the submission, delegating the editorial process to another qualified member of the editorial board to ensure impartiality.

Disclosure in the Article

All potential conflicts of interest must be explicitly stated within the article under the section “Conflict of Interest Statement.”
If there are no conflicts of interest:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no financial, academic, or personal conflicts of interest related to the publication of this article.

If a conflict of interest is present:

Conflict of Interest: Author A received research funding from Company X; Author B provided consulting services for Organization Y. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest.