Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Health Matters (JoHM) are evaluated for plagiarism using Turnitin detection software. Any paper found to contain plagiarism or self-plagiarism will be rejected outright.

Prior to peer review, authors are required to ensure that their manuscripts have been checked for similarity. Submissions to JoHM must not exceed a 25% similarity index.

Plagiarism is defined as presenting another individual’s ideas or expressions as one’s own without proper citation, acknowledgment, or permission. It includes both verbatim reproduction and improper paraphrasing. To determine potential plagiarism, the following practices are highlighted:

• Direct copying: Using parts or the entirety of another author’s work word-for-word without citation or acknowledgment. Such cases can be identified through direct comparison of the original and the submitted manuscript.

• Substantial copying: Reproducing a considerable portion of another’s work without appropriate credit. This can refer to both the quantity and the significance (quality) of the copied material in relation to the original work.

• Improper paraphrasing: Restating another author’s ideas or words in altered form without giving proper credit. This type of plagiarism can be more difficult to detect, as it involves rewording while retaining the core meaning from the source.