Article Withdrawal Policy

Journal of Public Health and Pharmacy

Journal of Public Health and Pharmacy (JPHP) is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, accountability, and orderly administration of the scholarly publication process. Authors should submit a manuscript only after careful consideration and with the full knowledge and agreement of every listed author.

Withdrawal is not an automatic administrative action. Every request is assessed according to the manuscript's editorial stage, the reasons provided, the agreement of all authors, any ethical or integrity concerns, and the editorial or production work already completed.

1. Withdrawal Before External Peer Review

Authors may request withdrawal before external peer review begins by submitting a formal written request to the JPHP Editorial Office.

The request must include the complete manuscript title, manuscript ID, corresponding author's name, reason for withdrawal, and confirmation that every listed author agrees to the request. The manuscript remains active until written confirmation is issued.

2. Withdrawal During Editorial Evaluation or Peer Review

A withdrawal request submitted after the manuscript has entered editorial evaluation, methodological assessment, or external peer review must provide a clear, specific, and valid justification.

Withdrawal at this stage is strongly discouraged because editors, reviewers, technical staff, and other journal personnel may already have committed substantial professional time and resources.

The manuscript remains under JPHP editorial administration until the request has been reviewed and formal written confirmation has been issued.

3. Withdrawal After Acceptance

Withdrawal after acceptance is strongly discouraged and will be considered only under exceptional circumstances that materially affect the validity, legality, ethics, authorship, or publishability of the accepted article.

Exceptional circumstances may include:

• Discovery of a serious error affecting the reliability of the manuscript
• Unresolved ethical concerns
• A documented authorship dispute
• Legal or copyright concerns
• Invalid or missing ethical approval or consent
• Serious data, image, analytical, or reporting problems
• Other circumstances that could compromise the integrity of the article or scholarly record

The corresponding author must submit a formal request supported by written agreement from all listed authors. The Editorial Office may request explanations, supporting records, original data, ethical documents, or other relevant evidence.

Approval is not automatic. The journal will consider the seriousness of the stated reason, the stage of production, and any consequences for editorial integrity and publication administration.

4. Production Work Already Completed

When an accepted manuscript has entered copyediting, language editing, typesetting, layout, proofreading, metadata preparation, DOI processing, issue scheduling, or another stage of production, JPHP may consider the editorial and production work already completed when assessing the request.

Withdrawal after production has commenced may affect administrative processing, publication scheduling, payment assessment, and other post-acceptance procedures.

5. Article Processing Charge and Withdrawal

Withdrawal of an accepted manuscript does not automatically create an entitlement to reimbursement of an Article Processing Charge that has already been paid.

Any administrative or financial matter associated with withdrawal will be assessed separately according to:

• The manuscript's editorial and production stage
• The date and verification status of payment
• The services already completed
• The stated reason for withdrawal
• Any error attributable to the journal or publisher
• Any applicable refund or payment provisions

Authors should contact the JPHP Editorial Office for clarification before submitting a withdrawal request involving an accepted manuscript or completed payment.

6. Requests After Publication

Once an article has been formally published online, assigned a DOI as the version of record, or included in a journal issue, it cannot be withdrawn as an unpublished manuscript.

Post-publication concerns will be addressed through the appropriate scholarly-record mechanism, including:

• Correction
• Expression of concern
• Retraction
• Article removal in exceptional circumstances

A retracted article will normally remain accessible with a clear and permanent retraction notice to preserve the integrity, transparency, and traceability of the scholarly record.

View Post-Publication Policy

7. Unethical or Improper Withdrawal

Withdrawal must not be used to avoid ethical, editorial, authorship, or legal responsibilities. Authors must not request withdrawal to conceal or facilitate misconduct.

Improper withdrawal may include:

When an ethical or integrity concern is identified, JPHP may continue an appropriate investigation even after the manuscript has been withdrawn.

8. Possible Actions in Cases of Improper Withdrawal

When evidence indicates unethical, misleading, or improper withdrawal conduct, JPHP may take proportionate action, including:

• Requesting clarification and supporting documentation
• Contacting all listed authors
• Continuing an editorial or publication-integrity investigation
• Notifying the relevant institution, ethics committee, funder, or research-integrity office
• Documenting the concern in confidential editorial records
• Restricting future submissions for an appropriate period
• Taking another proportionate measure under the Publication Ethics Policy

Any action will be based on the available evidence, seriousness of the conduct, response of the authors, and potential effect on the scholarly record.

9. Withdrawal Procedure

The corresponding author must send a formal withdrawal request to the JPHP Editorial Office containing all of the following information:

10. Editorial Assessment and Decision

The JPHP Editorial Office will:

1. Verify the identity and authority of the corresponding author
2. Confirm the agreement of all listed authors
3. Determine the current editorial or production stage
4. Review the reason and any supporting evidence
5. Assess whether an ethical or integrity concern requires separate investigation
6. Evaluate any administrative or financial implications
7. Communicate the decision in writing

11. Effective Date of Withdrawal

Withdrawal becomes effective only on the date stated in the formal written confirmation issued by the JPHP Editorial Office.

Before that confirmation is issued, authors must not submit the manuscript to another journal, represent it as withdrawn, or assume that the JPHP editorial process has ended.