Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy

1. Introduction

Journal of Sanitas et Salutem supports open science practices and is committed to enhancing transparency, reproducibility, and trust in health and medical research. This policy provides guidance on the sharing and accessibility of research data while ensuring compliance with ethical, legal, and confidentiality requirements.

2. Definition of Research Data

Research data may include, but are not limited to:

  • Quantitative and qualitative datasets from clinical, epidemiological, or public health studies

  • Laboratory results, measurements, and observational data

  • Survey instruments, interview transcripts, and questionnaires

  • Statistical analysis codes, protocols, and supplementary materials

3. Data Availability Requirement

  • Authors are encouraged to make underlying research data publicly available where ethically and legally permissible.

  • All manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement specifying how the data can be accessed.

  • If data cannot be shared openly, authors must provide a clear justification.

4. Data Repositories and Access Methods

Authors may share data through:

  • Reputable open-access data repositories relevant to health and medical sciences

  • Institutional or national repositories

  • Supplementary files provided by the journal

  • Controlled-access repositories for sensitive health data

All datasets should be well-documented and cited appropriately.

5. Ethical and Legal Considerations

Data sharing must comply with:

  • Protection of patient privacy and confidentiality

  • Ethical approvals and informed consent agreements

  • Applicable data protection laws and regulations

  • Institutional and funder data-sharing requirements

Personal or sensitive health data must be anonymized or de-identified prior to sharing.

6. Exceptions and Restrictions

Data may be restricted when:

  • Sharing would violate patient confidentiality or consent

  • Legal, ethical, or contractual obligations prohibit disclosure

  • Data involve ongoing clinical trials or sensitive public health issues

In such cases, data may be made available upon reasonable request, subject to ethical approval.

7. Data Availability Statement

Each article must include a statement addressing:

  • Whether data are publicly available

  • Where and how the data can be accessed

  • Any conditions or restrictions on access

Example statements:

  • “The datasets generated during this study are available in a public repository.”

  • “Due to ethical restrictions, the data are not publicly available but may be accessed upon reasonable request.”

8. Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for:

  • Ensuring data accuracy, completeness, and integrity

  • Protecting participant confidentiality

  • Retaining original data for a reasonable period after publication

  • Properly citing data sources and repositories

9. Editorial and Reviewer Responsibilities

  • Editors and reviewers may request access to data during the review process.

  • Data shared for review purposes will be treated as confidential.

  • The journal does not host or manage external data repositories.

10. Compliance and Enforcement

Non-compliance with this policy may result in:

  • Requests for clarification or revision

  • Manuscript rejection

  • Post-publication correction or retraction

11. Ethical Standards

This policy aligns with:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines

  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations

  • Open science and responsible data-sharing principles

12. Policy Review

Journal of Sanitas et Salutem reserves the right to update this policy to reflect advances in data governance, ethical standards, and publishing practices.