Human Studies
The DJPH adheres to the basic principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association. Present practice of the DJPH is to ask authors of submissions to state whether their studies involved human participants, and, if so, whether they have satisfied review on ethical grounds by an appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or whether such an IRB has found their studies to be exempt from review. The statement on Human Participant Protection at the end of published pieces shows whether studies have been approved or exempted by a named IRB.
Informed Consent
If human participants are involved, a statement of approval by an institutional review board IRB and the participants’ informed consent is required. It is the responsibility of the lead author to keep a copy of the IRB approval received in his/her personal file. The DJPH does not require a copy of the approval form. If IRB approval was not obtained or sought, a short explanation (1-2 sentences) to this effect is required.
Animal Studies
All research studies involving animals must have been performed in compliance with guidelines outlined in
- the Animal Welfare Act, US Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (accessed 05/25/07), or
- the NRC Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (accessed 05/25/07), or
- the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Agricultural Research and Teaching (Fass 1999), or
- other equivalent guidelines.