Editorial independence

Sumy State University is a founder and a publisher of an international scientific journal Health Economics and Management Review (HEM).

Journal editors and publisher will always work together on the business of managing a particular journal and share duties and responsibilities following the defined “Publishing policies”.

“Editorial independence” means that the editors of a journal have the complete freedom to decide to publish or not to publish, and to correct or withdraw an article, based solely on its scientific merit, independent of the founders and publishers of the journal, the authors and their sponsors, other institutions, and personnel. No one can influence the deadline for publication of the paper. Producing high-quality peer-reviewed journals, articles that correspond to the key topics, aims and scope of the journals is the main motivator for us. Commercial interests cannot take precedence over this policy.

According to the key principles of WAME, owners have the right to hire and fire the editors and members of the Editorial board but they should dismiss them only for substantial reasons such as a pattern of bad editorial decisions, disagreement with the long-term editorial direction of the journal, or personal behavior (such as criminal acts) that are incompatible with a position of trust. It may also be appropriate to end the editor’s service if, for whatever reason, owners and editors find they are unable to work together in a spirit of mutual trust and collaboration. Termination of an editor’s appointment should be a deliberate process, involving open discussion at the highest level of the organization, and should not be precipitous, except for egregious wrongdoing.

Editorial decisions should be based mainly on the validity of the work and its importance to readers, not the policies or commercial success of the owner. They should be made independently and without any pressure or influence. The editorial office cannot comment the decisions of journal’s Editorial boards anywhere and under any conditions. The journal’s management adheres to the principles of the Core Practices.