International Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases - Editorial Policies

Comprehensive editorial standards ensuring rigorous, ethical, and transparent peer review for STI research.

All research manuscripts undergo rigorous peer review by qualified experts in relevant STI specialties before acceptance for publication. IJSTD employs single-blind peer review where reviewers remain anonymous to authors while author identities are known to reviewers. This approach balances candid evaluation with accountability while protecting reviewers from potential retribution for negative assessments.

Manuscripts typically receive evaluation from two or more independent reviewers selected based on relevant expertise, absence of conflicts of interest, and availability for timely review. Editors synthesize reviewer recommendations with their own assessment to make informed acceptance, revision, or rejection decisions. Authors receive detailed feedback explaining decisions and providing constructive guidance for manuscript improvement.

All research involving human subjects must receive appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board approval before participant enrollment and manuscript submission. Authors must confirm ethics compliance and provide approval reference numbers during submission. Research involving animals must follow established guidelines including ARRIVE recommendations and receive animal care committee approval.

Clinical trials must be prospectively registered in recognized public registries such as ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN, or WHO-approved national registries before enrollment of the first participant. Registration details should be reported in manuscripts. Observational studies should follow STROBE, CONSORT, or other applicable reporting guidelines to ensure transparent methodology description.

Authors must confirm that submitted manuscripts represent original work not previously published or currently under consideration elsewhere. All authors listed must have made substantial contributions to conception, design, data analysis, or manuscript preparation meeting ICMJE authorship criteria. Ghost authorship and gift authorship are not permitted and will result in manuscript rejection or post-publication correction.

Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest including financial relationships, employment, consulting arrangements, stock ownership, and personal relationships that could influence research conduct or interpretation. Funding sources must be acknowledged with specific grant numbers and funder involvement in study design or manuscript preparation disclosed.

Editorial decisions are based solely on manuscript scientific merit, methodological quality, and contribution to STI knowledge. Commercial considerations, author reputation, institutional prestige, and funding sources do not influence acceptance decisions. Editors with potential conflicts of interest recuse themselves from handling affected manuscripts.

IJSTD maintains clear separation between editorial decision-making and business operations. Advertising and sponsorship arrangements never influence content decisions. Editorial board members participating in peer review follow the same guidelines as external reviewers with additional disclosure requirements.