Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy

The Health Science and Nursing Research Journal (HSNRJ) recognizes the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and AI-assisted technologies in research and scholarly communication.

The use of such technologies must not compromise authorship accountability, research integrity, confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property, or the reliability of the scientific record.

AI Cannot Be an Author

Generative AI systems, large language models, chatbots, and other AI-assisted technologies must not be listed as authors or co-authors.

Authorship requires accountability, approval of the final work, management of conflicts of interest, and responsibility for the integrity of the publication—responsibilities that cannot be assumed by an AI system.

Responsibilities of Authors

Human authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content, including:

• scientific accuracy;
• originality;
• factual statements;
• citations and references;
• data interpretation;
• ethical compliance;
• absence of plagiarism; and
• the integrity of figures, tables, and other materials.

Authors must independently verify AI-generated or AI-assisted content before submission.

Disclosure

Authors should transparently disclose substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation when such use goes beyond routine spelling, grammar, formatting, or similar assistive functions.

The disclosure should identify the tool and explain how it was used when relevant to the integrity or reproducibility of the work.

Prohibited Uses

AI tools must not be used to:

• fabricate or falsify data;
• create fictitious research participants;
• generate fraudulent results;
• invent references or citations;
• manipulate images or scientific evidence in a misleading manner;
• conceal plagiarism;
• misrepresent research procedures; or
• compromise participant privacy or confidential research information.

AI-Generated Images and Research Data

AI-generated or AI-manipulated images must not be presented as authentic research data or evidence.

Legitimate computational or AI-based image processing that forms part of the research methodology must be transparently described and scientifically justified.

Reviewers

Manuscripts submitted for peer review are confidential.

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts, unpublished data, identifiable participant information, or confidential editorial materials into publicly accessible generative AI systems when doing so could compromise confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property, or research integrity.

Reviewers remain fully responsible for their review reports.

Editors

Editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and editorial communications.

Confidential manuscript material should not be entered into external generative AI systems when confidentiality or data protection cannot be assured.

Editorial decisions must remain under meaningful human responsibility.

Accountability

The use of AI does not reduce the responsibility of authors, reviewers, or editors for their respective roles in scholarly publishing.

Failure to disclose inappropriate AI use or the use of AI to fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or misrepresent scholarly content may be treated as a research or publication integrity concern.