JOURNAL POLICY ON OBTAINING AN ETHICAL APPROVAL FOR RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMANS, ANIMALS, THEIR BIOMATERIALS, AND CONFIDENTIAL DATA

The journal recognizes the priority of ethical norms and standards in scientific research involving humans, animals, their biological materials, as well as in studies that include personal or other confidential data. All materials submitted to the editorial office must comply with the applicable legislation of Ukraine, including the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Human Rights in Biomedical Research,” the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection,” the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty,” as well as international ethical guidelines (the Declaration of Helsinki, ARRIVE, CIOMS, etc.).

Authors are required to provide confirmation of a positive ethical approval issued by an authorized ethics committee in cases where the research:

• involves human participants as research subjects (including observational, survey-based, and experimental methods);
• includes work with human biomaterials (blood, tissues, DNA, biobanks, etc.);
• uses animals or their biological objects;
• involves processing personal, sensitive, or confidential data;
• falls under specific legal provisions of Ukraine or international regulations on bioethics and biosafety.

The ethical approval must clearly indicate:
• the full name of the institution that issued the approval;
• the date and protocol number;
• the forms of informed consent obtained (for research involving humans).

Informed Consent of Participants

Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained voluntarily, without coercion, and in a form understandable to the participants.

It is prohibited to publish personal data or visual materials that allow identification of an individual without their written consent.

Research Involving Animals

Animal studies must comply with the 3R principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement).
Authors must provide information on housing conditions, protocols used, and measures taken to minimize animal suffering.

Confidential and Personal Data

Authors must:
• ensure that personal data processing complies with the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection” and GDPR, where applicable;
• depersonalize or anonymize all data;
• describe the mechanisms for data protection and access procedures.

Journal’s Right to Request Additional Materials

The editorial board reserves the right to request copies of ethical approvals, informed consent forms, study protocols, or other documents to verify compliance with ethical standards. The journal may refuse publication if ethical requirements are violated or if information about ethical compliance is incomplete.

Ethical Misconduct

If violations of ethical standards are identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate editorial actions — from issuing corrections to retracting the article. Decisions are made in accordance with COPE recommendations.