Corrections, Expressions of Concern, Retractions, and Article Removal

Journal of Public Health and Pharmacy

Journal of Public Health and Pharmacy (JPHP) is committed to maintaining an accurate, transparent, traceable, and reliable scholarly record. When a significant error, ethical concern, legal issue, or integrity problem is identified after publication, the journal will take proportionate action according to the nature, seriousness, evidence, and effect of the issue on the published article.

Post-publication actions are intended to protect readers, research participants, patients, public health, pharmacy practice, and the integrity of scientific communication. They are not intended primarily to punish authors.

1. Correction

A correction may be issued when an error affects the accuracy, clarity, attribution, reproducibility, or interpretation of part of an article but does not invalidate its principal findings, conclusions, or overall scientific reliability.

Corrections may address:

• Author names, affiliations, ORCID identifiers, or correspondence details
• Errors in tables, figures, images, values, formulas, units, or statistical reporting
• Incorrect or incomplete acknowledgments, funding statements, author contributions, or conflict-of-interest disclosures
• Errors in methods, results, interpretation, references, or supplementary materials
• Incorrect drug names, dosages, routes, frequencies, treatment durations, or pharmaceutical terminology
• Other inaccuracies requiring transparent amendment

A correction notice will identify the original article, explain the amended information, state the reason for the correction, and remain permanently linked to the published record. Minor typographical, grammatical, or formatting errors that do not affect meaning may be corrected without a separate formal notice.

2. Types of Correction

The journal may use the general term Correction instead of distinguishing between erratum and corrigendum when a unified notice provides greater clarity and consistency.

3. Correction Procedure

1. Reporting: authors, editors, reviewers, readers, institutions, funders, regulators, or other parties may report a suspected error to the Editorial Office.
2. Initial assessment: the Editorial Office determines whether the issue is specific, credible, and relevant to the published record.
3. Verification: authors may be asked to provide clarification, original data, analytical outputs, source files, ethics documents, or other supporting material.
4. Independent advice: the journal may consult subject experts, statisticians, pharmacists, clinicians, public-health specialists, ethics advisers, or other qualified persons.
5. Editorial decision: the editor determines whether a formal correction is required and what information must be amended.
6. Publication: a dated correction notice is published and permanently linked to the original article.

4. Expression of Concern

An expression of concern may be published when serious questions have been raised about the reliability, ethical basis, authorship, legality, or integrity of an article, but the available evidence is incomplete, disputed, or subject to an unresolved investigation.

An expression of concern may be appropriate when:

• There is credible concern about the reliability or integrity of the findings
• There is uncertainty regarding ethical approval, informed consent, trial registration, or participant protection
• An institutional, regulatory, legal, or research-integrity investigation is pending
• Relevant evidence, data, records, or documentation cannot yet be obtained or verified
• The authors or responsible institution have not responded adequately
• A serious authorship, peer-review, conflict-of-interest, or legal dispute remains unresolved
• The article may present a significant risk of misleading clinical, pharmaceutical, policy, or public-health decisions

The notice will describe the nature of the concern objectively without making unsupported conclusions. It may later be replaced, revised, or supplemented by a correction, retraction, or notice confirming that the concern has been resolved.

5. Retraction

An article may be retracted when reliable evidence shows that its findings, publication process, ethical basis, legal status, or scientific integrity are seriously compromised.

Grounds for retraction may include:

• Fabrication, falsification, or serious manipulation of data, images, methods, results, adverse-event reports, or statistical analyses
• Plagiarism or substantial unattributed reuse
• Duplicate or redundant publication without appropriate disclosure
• Unethical research or absence of required ethical approval
• Invalid or absent informed consent where consent was required
• Unreliable findings caused by major error, methodological failure, or misconduct
• Serious selective reporting or concealment of outcomes, safety information, or protocol deviations
• Manipulation of authorship, peer review, citations, editorial assessment, or submission records
• Serious undisclosed financial, commercial, institutional, or professional conflicts of interest
• Copyright infringement, unlawful disclosure, privacy violations, or other significant legal concerns
• Publication of data or material without appropriate permission or authority

Retraction is not intended primarily as punishment. Its purpose is to correct the scholarly record and alert readers that the article, or a substantial part of it, should not be relied upon.

6. Retraction Procedure

1. Initial review: the Editorial Office determines whether the concern is credible, specific, and relevant to the published record.
2. Author response: the authors are informed of the concern and may be asked to provide explanations, original data, source files, ethical approvals, registrations, analytical records, or other documentation.
3. Independent assessment: the journal may seek advice from subject experts, statisticians, pharmacists, clinicians, public-health experts, ethics advisers, institutions, or legal advisers.
4. Institutional coordination: serious misconduct allegations may be referred to the relevant institution, research-integrity office, ethics committee, funder, regulator, publisher, or other competent body.
5. Editorial decision: the Editor-in-Chief or designated editor determines the appropriate and proportionate action based on the available evidence.
6. Public notice: a retraction notice is published and permanently linked to the original article.

7. Retraction Notice and Article Status

A retraction notice will:

• Identify and link to the retracted article
• Clearly state that the article has been retracted
• Explain the reason for retraction in objective and factual language
• Identify who initiated the retraction where appropriate
• Distinguish misconduct from honest error where evidence permits
• Avoid defamatory, speculative, or unsupported statements
• Remain freely accessible and permanently linked to the article

The original article will normally remain accessible to preserve the scholarly record. Its article page, downloadable full text, and metadata will be clearly and permanently marked as retracted.

8. Partial Retraction

A partial retraction may be considered only when a clearly identifiable and separable part of an article is unreliable, unethical, duplicated, or otherwise invalid while the remaining content continues to be scientifically reliable.

When the affected material compromises the principal findings, central analysis, study validity, safety conclusions, or overall interpretation, full retraction is more appropriate than partial retraction.

9. Article Removal

Removal of a published article is an exceptional measure. An article will not be removed merely because it has been retracted, contains errors, or is the subject of criticism.

Removal may be considered when continued public access would:

• Violate a binding legal requirement, injunction, or court order
• Expose confidential, sensitive, or unlawfully disclosed personal information
• Create a serious and immediate risk to health, patient safety, public safety, or security
• Contain defamatory, unlawful, or infringing material that cannot be resolved through correction or retraction
• Reveal information that presents a substantial risk to vulnerable persons or protected populations

When removal is necessary, the bibliographic record and DOI landing page will normally remain available with a notice explaining why the content is no longer accessible, unless legal restrictions prevent disclosure.

10. Author-Initiated Requests

Authors who identify a significant error, ethical problem, safety issue, or material omission after publication must contact the JPHP Editorial Office promptly.

An author request does not automatically determine whether a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or removal will be issued. The journal will independently assess the nature and effect of the issue on the article and the scholarly record.

11. Action During an Ongoing Investigation

The journal may take interim or final action before an institutional, regulatory, or legal investigation is completed when sufficient evidence exists to protect readers, research participants, patients, public health, pharmacy practice, or the integrity of the scholarly record.

The journal may also delay a final decision when an external investigation is likely to provide material evidence and delay does not create an unacceptable risk to readers or the public.

12. Appeals and Complaints

Authors or other affected parties may submit a written appeal when they believe that a post-publication decision resulted from a material factual error, procedural irregularity, inappropriate interpretation of evidence, or overlooked documentation.

The appeal must include a clear explanation, identify the disputed decision, and provide relevant evidence. Repetition of previously considered arguments without new evidence may not be sufficient for further review.

Submission of an appeal does not automatically suspend, reverse, or remove a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or removal notice. Where appropriate, the appeal will be assessed by an editor or qualified person who was not materially involved in the original decision.

13. Relationship with Manuscript Withdrawal

Withdrawal applies to manuscripts that have not yet been formally published. Once an article has been published online, assigned a DOI as the version of record, or included in an issue, concerns must be handled through this post-publication policy rather than through manuscript withdrawal.

View Article Withdrawal Policy

14. Indexing, Metadata, and Preservation

JPHP will update article metadata and publication status where technically possible and may notify DOI registration services, indexing databases, repositories, aggregators, and other scholarly-information services of a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or removal.

Post-publication notices form part of the permanent scholarly record and will be preserved in accordance with the journal's Archiving Policy.

15. Governing Principles