Editorial policies

1. About the journal

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología is an open-access biomedical scientific journal, peer-reviewed, with no article processing charges or fees for readers, edited by the Dominican Society of Gastroenterology, with its institutional headquarters in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The journal's purpose is the publication, dissemination, and preservation of original and unpublished scientific knowledge in the fields of clinical, endoscopic, and surgical gastroenterology, hepatology, coloproctology, digestive nutrition, pathology of the digestive system, and related areas, with the objective of contributing directly to the strengthening of evidence-based medical practice and the scientific development of the specialty.

The journal functions as an academic and scientific space oriented toward researchers, clinicians, teachers, health professionals, and decision-makers, promoting continuing medical education, the critical analysis of available evidence, and the generation of relevant scientific information for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and control of gastrointestinal diseases, both at the national and regional levels. Its editorial scope includes clinical, epidemiological, translational, and applied research, as well as analyses relevant to public health and specialized clinical practice.

Since its creation, the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología has continuously accompanied the academic, healthcare, and scientific development of gastroenterology in the Dominican Republic, consolidating itself as the official organ for scientific dissemination of the Dominican Society of Gastroenterology and as a permanent archive of the scientific work of the specialty in the country.

The official abbreviated name of the journal is Rev. Domin. Gastroenterol., and its ISSN is 3117-2601. The journal operates under an open-access model, guaranteeing free, immediate, and permanent access to all its content, without economic, technical, or legal restrictions for readers or authors, in accordance with the principles promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Manuscripts may be submitted in Spanish or English. In order to ensure visibility, interoperability, and international impact, all accepted articles mandatorily include the title, abstract, and keywords in both languages. Keywords must be selected using standardized terminology based on the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), facilitating the correct indexing, retrieval, and citation of content.

The journal is governed by the ethical principles and good practices of scientific publication established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the criteria for transparency and good editorial practices of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the editorial quality standards defined by Latindex. These guidelines explicitly guide all editorial, ethical, operational, and manuscript management policies of the journal, and are mandatory for authors, reviewers, and members of the Editorial Committee.

Currently, the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología carries out systematic actions aimed at strengthening its editorial, technical, and ethical quality, with the objective of consolidating its indexing in regional and international databases, including LILACS, Latindex, Dialnet, and Redib, as well as preparing its progressive application to databases of greater scope and impact such as PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science.

2. Publication frequency

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología maintains a semiannual periodicity, with the publication of two ordinary issues per year, corresponding to the periods January–June and July–December. This editorial frequency is formally established as part of the journal's editorial policy and responds to the need to guarantee rigorous, consistent, and sustainable editorial processes, particularly regarding peer review, the scientific quality of content, and responsible editorial management.

The semiannual periodicity ensures that each manuscript submitted for editorial consideration has the necessary time for an exhaustive double-blind peer review, the implementation of substantive corrections when applicable, and final validation by the Editorial Committee, in accordance with the international standards recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the editorial quality criteria of Latindex.

Each issue is published primarily in digital format, guaranteeing free, immediate, and permanent access to content through the journal's official website and its editorial management platform. Additionally, when institutional and logistical conditions allow, exceptionally, the journal may produce a printed version intended for preservation, institutional dissemination, and historical archive purposes.

The coexistence of digital and print formats ensures accessibility, visibility, and long-term preservation of the published scientific content, in line with the open-access principles promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and good practices for the preservation of the scientific record.

3. Editorial governance and independence policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología has a clearly defined editorial governance structure aimed at guaranteeing independence, integrity, impartiality, and transparency in all processes of evaluation, selection, and publication of manuscripts.

The ultimate responsibility for the editorial content of the journal lies with the Editor-in-Chief, who exercises their functions with full academic and editorial autonomy, and is responsible for the supervision of the editorial process, the strict application of the journal's policies, the appointment of associate editors and reviewers, and making final decisions on the acceptance, rejection, or request for modifications of manuscripts, based exclusively on scientific, methodological, ethical, and editorial criteria.

The Dominican Society of Gastroenterology, in its capacity as the publishing entity and owner of the journal, does not intervene directly or indirectly in individual editorial decisions, nor does it exert influence over the selection of manuscripts, the appointment of reviewers, editorial rulings, or the published scientific content. The separation between institutional governance and editorial management constitutes a fundamental principle of the journal and is strictly maintained to preserve credibility, independence, and trust in the editorial process.

Editorial decisions are made without interference from commercial, financial, political, institutional, or personal interests. The journal does not allow funding sources, sponsors, advertisers, or institutional relationships to condition, explicitly or implicitly, the published scientific content or editorial decisions. This editorial independence is explicitly declared as an integral part of the journal's policies and is mandatory for all members of the Editorial Committee.

The members of the Editorial Committee and associate editors must act in accordance with the principles of editorial responsibility, confidentiality, impartiality, and transparency, and are obliged to declare any situation that may compromise their independence in the evaluation of a manuscript. If a potential conflict of interest is identified, the involved editor will be excluded from the corresponding decision process.

This policy is applied in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the principles of editorial independence promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the editorial quality criteria required by Latindex, and constitutes an essential pillar of the journal's commitment to the integrity of the scientific record.

4. Editorial process and workflow policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología establishes a structured, transparent, and traceable editorial process designed to guarantee scientific quality, ethical integrity, and impartiality in the evaluation and publication of manuscripts, in compliance with international standards for biomedical publication.

All received manuscripts are managed through the Open Journal System (OJS), which allows for the registration, tracking, and documentation of each stage of the editorial process. The process begins with a preliminary editorial evaluation carried out by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor, whose objective is to verify compliance with the formal, thematic, methodological, and ethical criteria established by the journal, as well as the suitability of the manuscript for its editorial scope.

During this initial evaluation, aspects such as the originality of the work, scientific and clinical relevance, methodological consistency, compliance with ethical standards, declaration of conflicts of interest, declared use of artificial intelligence tools, and adherence to instructions for authors are reviewed. Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria may be rejected at this stage without being sent for external review, a decision that will be duly communicated to the authors.

Manuscripts that pass the preliminary evaluation are sent for double-blind peer review, being assigned to a minimum of two external reviewers with demonstrated expertise in the corresponding subject area. The selection of reviewers is made considering their academic competence, independence, absence of conflicts of interest, and availability to meet established deadlines.

Once the review reports are received, the Editor-in-Chief or the responsible editor evaluates the recommendations issued and makes a reasoned editorial decision, which may consist of acceptance, rejection, or a request for minor or major modifications. In cases where modifications are requested, authors must respond in a structured and documented manner to the comments of the reviewers and the editor.

The final editorial decision is based on the scientific quality of the manuscript, methodological soundness, consistency of results, ethical adequacy, and compliance with the journal's editorial policies. The acceptance of a manuscript is not conditioned by factors external to these criteria.

Once accepted, the manuscript enters the stages of editing, copyediting, layout, and publication, with editorial supervision maintained until its final publication. All versions of the manuscript and editorial communications are recorded in the OJS system, guaranteeing the traceability and transparency of the process.

The journal is committed to maintaining clear, respectful, and timely communication with authors throughout the editorial process, and to managing evaluation times reasonably without compromising the scientific or ethical rigor of the process.

5. Peer review policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología implements a double-blind peer review system, in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and international standards for scientific evaluation, with the objective of guaranteeing impartiality, objectivity, quality, and credibility of the published articles.

In this evaluation model, neither the authors nor the reviewers know the identity of the counterpart during the review process. Manuscripts sent for external review are presented anonymously, removing any information that allows for the identification of the authors or their institutional affiliations.

All manuscripts that pass the preliminary editorial evaluation are assigned to a minimum of two external reviewers, selected based on their academic experience, thematic competence, scientific production, and absence of conflicts of interest. The journal strives for a balanced selection of reviewers, considering geographical, institutional, and disciplinary diversity.

Reviewers carry out an independent, critical, and structured evaluation covering, among other aspects, the originality of the manuscript, scientific and clinical relevance, clarity of objectives, methodological soundness, adequacy of statistical analysis, consistency between results and conclusions, compliance with ethical principles, and the quality of the manuscript's presentation.

Review reports must be issued within the established deadlines and contain reasoned recommendations, which may consist of acceptance, rejection, or a request for minor or major modifications. Reviewers must formulate clear, respectful, and constructive comments oriented toward improving the scientific quality and clarity of the manuscript.

The Editor-in-Chief or the responsible editor evaluates the review reports and adopts a reasoned editorial decision, considering the received recommendations in a comprehensive manner. In case of substantial discrepancies between reviewers, the editor may request an additional review or act as an editorial arbiter.

The journal has a formal guide for reviewers, aligned with COPE and ICMJE, which establishes evaluation criteria, ethical responsibilities, confidentiality rules, and the management of potential conflicts of interest. Reviewers commit not to disclose, use, or reproduce the content of the evaluated manuscripts for purposes other than the editorial process.

The peer review process constitutes a central pillar of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología's commitment to scientific excellence, editorial transparency, and the integrity of the academic record.

6. Policy on publication ethics, academic integrity, and malpractice

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología is explicitly committed to the highest standards of ethics in scientific publication and academic integrity, understood as the honest, transparent, responsible, and verifiable compliance with the principles governing biomedical research and scientific communication. This policy adopts as its guiding framework the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the transparency principles of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the editorial quality criteria of Latindex.

This policy is mandatory for all actors involved in the editorial process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the Editorial Committee, who must act with honesty, transparency, responsibility, independence, and respect for the integrity of the scientific record. Failure to comply with these rules constitutes a serious offense and will be managed according to established ethical procedures.

Responsibilities of authors

Authors are responsible for guaranteeing the originality of the submitted works, the veracity and traceability of the presented data, the correct citation of all sources used, and compliance with applicable ethical regulations. They must fully and transparently declare any conflict of interest, source of funding, approval by a research ethics committee, informed consent where applicable, and the use of artificial intelligence tools, in accordance with the specific policies of the journal.

Responsibilities of reviewers

Reviewers must perform objective, impartial, confidential, and reasoned evaluations, declare any potential conflict of interest, and refrain from using, disclosing, or reproducing the content of evaluated manuscripts outside the editorial process. Peer review must be carried out with scientific rigor, academic respect, and ethical responsibility.

Responsibilities of editors

Editors must exercise their functions with independence, impartiality, and confidentiality, basing their decisions exclusively on scientific merit, clinical relevance, methodological soundness, and compliance with the editorial and ethical policies of the journal. Likewise, they are obliged to properly manage conflicts of interest and ensure the consistent and equitable application of editorial policies.

Scientific and editorial malpractices

The journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy against any practice that undermines academic and editorial integrity. The following are considered contrary behaviors, among others:

Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal.
Redundant or duplicate publication.
Plagiarism and self-plagiarism.
Inappropriate fragmentation of results from the same study ("salami slicing").
Manipulation, fabrication, or falsification of data, images, tables, or results.
Inappropriate authorship or deliberate omission of relevant contributions.
Improper or undeclared use of artificial intelligence tools.
Deliberate concealment of conflicts of interest, funding, or relevant ethical information.
Deliberate omission of relevant information.
Misrepresentation of results or any practice intended to mislead the editorial process or readers.

Detection and evaluation of textual similarity

All received manuscripts are systematically subjected to textual similarity detection tools as part of the initial editorial process and, when considered necessary, at later stages. The results of these analyses are evaluated by the Editorial Committee, which assesses the nature, extent, and context of the detected coincidences, differentiating between the legitimate use of cited literature and possible violations of originality.

Management of suspected misconduct

Suspicions of scientific or editorial misconduct are evaluated and managed in a confidential, documented, and fair manner, following the procedures and flowcharts established by COPE. This process may include notification to the authors, a request for explanations or additional documentation, the evaluation of available evidence, and the adoption of editorial decisions proportional to the severity of the case, guaranteeing due process and confidentiality during the investigation.

Editorial measures

Confirmed violations may lead to various editorial measures, including, as appropriate:

Immediate rejection of the manuscript.
Suspension of the editorial process.
Issuance of corrections or expressions of concern.
Retraction of already published articles.
Notification to the authors' affiliated institutions.

This policy constitutes a cross-cutting framework that supports and guides the other editorial policies of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología.

7. Plagiarism and redundant publication policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy against any form of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and redundant or duplicate publication.

Plagiarism is considered the total or partial reproduction of texts, ideas, data, figures, or results from other works without proper attribution, including the uncited use of published or unpublished sources. Self-plagiarism is considered the substantial reuse of material previously published by the same authors without adequate reference or valid editorial justification. Redundant or duplicate publication is considered the submission or publication of a manuscript that presents results substantially similar to those already published or simultaneously submitted for evaluation in another journal, as well as the inappropriate fragmentation of results ("salami slicing") when not methodologically justified.

All received manuscripts are subjected to textual similarity detection tools, and identified matches will be qualitatively evaluated by the editorial team considering the context, the nature of the content, and applicable citation standards.

Upon suspicion or confirmation of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or redundant publication, the Editorial Committee will initiate a formal, confidential, and documented investigation, following the procedures recommended by COPE. Editorial measures may include the immediate rejection of the manuscript, requests for clarification or additional documentation, retraction of already published articles, issuance of corrections or expressions of concern and, when appropriate, notification to the authors' affiliated institutions. This policy is mandatory for all authors who submit manuscripts to the journal and constitutes a central element of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología's commitment to credibility, transparency, and the integrity of the scientific record.

8. Authorship and contributions policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología strictly adopts the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). To be recognized as an author of a manuscript, each individual must simultaneously meet the following four criteria:

Having made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
Having participated in the drafting of the manuscript or its critical revision with relevant intellectual contributions.
Having approved the final version of the manuscript being submitted for publication.
Assuming public responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, and veracity of the work as a whole, ensuring that any questions related to it are properly investigated and resolved.

Individuals who do not meet all of these criteria should not be listed as authors and, when appropriate, may be recognized in the Acknowledgments section, transparently describing the nature of their contribution.

The journal explicitly rejects the practices of honorary authorship, guest authorship, coercive authorship, and ghost authorship, as they are considered contrary to academic integrity. Any suspicion of irregularity in authorship will be evaluated according to the procedures established by COPE.

The order of authorship must be defined by mutual agreement among the authors before submission and reflects the relative magnitude of the contributions made. The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal throughout the editorial process and for ensuring that all authors meet the authorship criteria and have approved the manuscript.

The journal recommends the use of the CRediT taxonomy (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to clearly and in a standardized way describe the individual contributions of each author (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, original draft writing, review and editing, supervision).

Requests for modifications in authorship (addition, removal, or change in the order of authors) after the submission of the manuscript, or after its acceptance, must be duly justified in writing and have the express approval of all involved authors. Such requests will be evaluated by the Editorial Committee, which reserves the right to accept or reject them.

This policy is mandatory and forms an integral part of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología's commitment to transparency, scientific responsibility, and the correct attribution of academic work.

9. Conflict of interest management policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología requires full, transparent, and timely disclosure of any real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that may influence, or be reasonably interpreted as influencing, the research process, editorial evaluation, or publication of a manuscript.

This obligation applies to authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the Editorial Committee. Conflicts of interest may be financial, institutional, professional, academic, or personal in nature, and include, among others, employment relationships, consultancies, honoraria, research funding, stock ownership, patents, institutional affiliations, academic rivalries, or relevant personal relationships.

Authors must explicitly declare all conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission, using the fields established in the Open Journal System (OJS) and, where appropriate, through a statement included in the manuscript itself. In the absence of conflicts, authors must explicitly declare this condition.

Reviewers are obliged to declare any potential conflict of interest before accepting an invitation to evaluate a manuscript. If a conflict is identified that may compromise their objectivity, the reviewer must refrain from participating in the evaluation.

Editors must declare any conflict of interest related to the manuscripts under their responsibility. When a potential conflict is identified, the involved editor will be excluded from the corresponding editorial decision process, and the manuscript will be reassigned to another independent editor.

Conflict of interest declarations are evaluated by the Editorial Committee, which may take necessary measures to preserve the impartiality, transparency, and credibility of the editorial process, including the reassignment of reviewers or editors, or the request for additional clarifications.

Authors' conflict of interest statements are published alongside accepted articles, as part of the journal's commitment to transparency toward the scientific community and readers.

This policy is applied in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the ICMJE Uniform Requirements, and is mandatory for all participants in the editorial process.

10. Policy on ethics in research with humans and animals

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología requires strict compliance with international ethical principles applicable to biomedical research as an indispensable condition for the evaluation and eventual publication of manuscripts. This policy is based on the Declaration of Helsinki, current national regulations, international guidelines for animal research, and the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All studies involving human subjects, including clinical, epidemiological, and observational research, clinical trials, and retrospective studies with access to medical records or identifiable databases, must have prior approval from a duly recognized research ethics committee. Authors must explicitly state in the manuscript the name of the ethics committee, the corresponding institution, and the protocol number or approval code, where applicable.

Likewise, authors must declare the obtaining of informed consent from participants, or clearly and documentedly justify any waiver granted by the ethics committee. In research involving vulnerable populations, the journal may require additional evidence of specific ethical safeguards aimed at protecting the rights, dignity, and well-being of the participants.

Studies involving animals must comply with international guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals, as well as applicable national legislation. Authors must explicitly indicate in the manuscript the approval of the corresponding ethics or animal welfare committee and describe the measures taken to minimize animal suffering.

The journal reserves the right to request supporting documentation related to ethical approvals, informed consents, or animal welfare procedures at any stage of the editorial process. Failure to comply with these requirements may lead to the rejection of the manuscript or, if detected after publication, to the adoption of editorial measures according to the corrections and retractions policy.

This policy is mandatory for all authors and constitutes an essential pillar of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología's commitment to responsible research, the protection of research subjects, and scientific integrity.

11. Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología requires that any use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools during the preparation of a manuscript be declared explicitly, transparently, and verifiably by the authors. This declaration must include, at a minimum, the tool used (name and version when possible), the purpose of use, the sections of the manuscript or stages of work in which it was employed, and the degree of human intervention in the review and validation of the content generated or assisted by AI.

The use of artificial intelligence is permitted as support for tasks such as data analysis or processing, statistical support, programming, management and organization of bibliographic references, translation, grammatical correction, style improvement, detection of formal inconsistencies, and preparation of graphic or tabular materials, provided that effective human control is maintained over the process and that the AI does not substitute for the scientific judgment or critical interpretation of the authors.

Authors retain full, non-delegable, and final responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, originality, and traceability of the work, including the verification of any content, data, table, figure, or text produced in whole or in part with AI assistance. The use of these tools does not exempt compliance with applicable ethical standards, the obtaining of ethical approvals and informed consents where appropriate, nor the respect for copyright and citation norms. Furthermore, authors must guarantee that the use of AI does not compromise the confidentiality of sensitive or identifiable data and that non-verifiable, inaccurate content or content without support in scientific evidence is not incorporated.

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be recognized as authors or co-authors. Authorship is strictly governed by the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and corresponds exclusively to individuals who meet said criteria. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors are aware of, accept, and approve the declared use of AI and that such declaration is complete, accurate, and truthful.

The undeclared, misleading, or irresponsible use of artificial intelligence tools, as well as their use to manufacture, falsify, or manipulate data, images, or results, or to deliberately introduce inaccurate content, will be considered an infringement of academic and editorial integrity. In such cases, the journal may apply proportional editorial measures, including the rejection of the manuscript, suspension of the editorial process, or, if the article has already been published, the issuance of corrections, expressions of concern, or retraction, in accordance with the procedures and flowcharts of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

This policy is reviewed and updated periodically to adapt to the evolution of artificial intelligence technologies and international recommendations regarding ethics, integrity, and good practices in scientific publication.

12. Data Availability and Research Transparency Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología actively promotes the transparency, reproducibility, and verifiability of scientific research as essential principles of the integrity of the academic record. In this sense, the journal explicitly encourages authors to make available the primary and secondary data sets used in their studies, as well as the materials and protocols necessary for the proper understanding and reproduction of the results.

Authors must mandatorily include in their manuscripts a section titled "Data Availability," describing clearly and precisely the nature of the data used, the public repository in which they are deposited (for example, Dryad, Zenodo, figshare, or other recognized institutional or thematic repositories), as well as the corresponding persistent identifier (DOI, permanent link, or other equivalent identifier), when applicable.

The journal recognizes that, in certain contexts, data cannot be shared in whole or in part due to ethical, legal, contractual, or confidentiality restrictions, especially when dealing with sensitive or identifiable patient information. In these cases, authors must explicitly declare such limitations in the Data Availability section, providing a clear and reasoned justification and indicating, when possible, the mechanisms through which the data could be accessed under controlled conditions.

Data availability contributes to the independent validation of results, the development of secondary analyses, and the cumulative advancement of scientific knowledge. The journal may evaluate the adequacy of data availability statements as part of the editorial process and request clarifications or additional information when deemed necessary.

This policy is applied in accordance with the principles of open science promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the ICMJE Uniform Requirements, and reinforces the commitment of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología to transparency and trust in published research.

13. Open Access Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología operates under an immediate open access model, guaranteeing that all published content is available freely, permanently, and without restrictions to readers from any part of the world from the moment of publication.

The journal does not apply Article Processing Charges (APC) or subscription fees for readers, reaffirming its commitment to the democratization of scientific knowledge, equity in access to information, and the broad dissemination of biomedical research, especially in low- and middle-income country contexts.

Open access allows readers to read, download, copy, distribute, and print published articles, as well as use them for non-commercial academic and educational purposes, provided that the terms of the license adopted by the journal are respected and the original source is properly cited.

This policy is implemented in accordance with the principles promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and international good practices for scientific publication, and constitutes a central element of the editorial mission of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología.

14. Copyright and Licensing Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología recognizes and respects the copyright of published works and adopts a clear and transparent framework for the management of intellectual property, in accordance with international standards for scientific publication and open access.

Authors retain the copyright of their manuscripts once accepted and published. Upon publication, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and publicly communicate the content in any format or medium, including digital and print formats and indexing systems, for academic and scientific dissemination purposes.

All articles published in the journal are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. This license allows third parties to access, share, copy, redistribute, and reuse the content for non-commercial purposes, provided that proper credit is given to the authors and the journal, the full reference of the original publication is included, and it is indicated if changes have been made.

The adopted license does not allow commercial use of the content without the express written authorization of the rights holders. Any reuse that exceeds the terms of the license must have the corresponding approval.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the submitted content does not infringe on the copyrights of third parties and for obtaining the necessary permissions for the reproduction of figures, tables, images, or other materials protected by copyright. Such permissions must be declared and, when necessary, presented during the editorial process.

This policy ensures a balance between the protection of copyright, the wide dissemination of scientific knowledge, and compliance with the open access principles promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and other international initiatives.

15. Policy on Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología maintains an explicit commitment to the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the scientific record and recognizes the need to promptly correct any error or irregularity identified in published articles. This policy is applied in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and international good practices for scientific publication.

Corrections

When a relevant error is identified in a published article—whether at the initiative of the authors, readers, reviewers, or the editorial team itself—that does not invalidate the results, conclusions, or general integrity of the work, the journal will proceed with the publication of a formal correction. Corrections will be clearly identified, linked to the original article, and reflected in the electronic versions of the manuscript (PDF and XML), accompanied by an explanatory note describing precisely the nature of the error and the changes made. Corrections will not alter the publication history or the bibliographic record of the article.

Retractions

The journal will proceed with the retraction of an article when situations are detected that substantially compromise the reliability of the work, including, but not limited to, plagiarism, redundant publication, manipulation or fabrication of data, serious ethical violations, undeclared improper use of artificial intelligence, or unreliable findings.

In these cases, the original article will be replaced by a version that retains only the bibliographic metadata, incorporating a visible watermark with the indication "Retracted" and a retraction note explaining clearly and transparently the reasons for the decision. Retraction does not remove the article's record but rather preserves the integrity of the scientific archive.

Expressions of Concern

When there are well-founded suspicions of scientific misconduct or significant irregularities that are still under investigation and a definitive decision is not yet possible, the journal may publish an expression of concern. This notification is intended to alert readers to potential problems related to the article while the corresponding investigation is completed. Investigations related to corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern will be carried out confidentially, documented, and impartially, guaranteeing due process and the right to reply for the authors involved.

This policy reinforces the commitment of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología to editorial transparency, scientific responsibility, and the trust of the academic and clinical community in the content it publishes.

16. Complaints and Appeals Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología has a formal, transparent, and confidential procedure for managing complaints and appeals related to the editorial process, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and international good practices for scientific publication.

Editorial Appeals

Authors have the right to appeal an editorial decision when they consider that it has been based on substantial errors of scientific, methodological, or procedural interpretation. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Editor-in-Chief through the journal's official channel and include a clear, structured, and reasoned justification, specifically pointing out the aspects that motivate the appeal.

Appeals will be evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief and, when appropriate, by an independent editor or member of the Editorial Committee who did not participate in the original decision, in order to guarantee impartiality. The appeal process may involve additional review of the manuscript or requests for complementary external evaluations. The acceptance of an appeal does not imply automatic acceptance of the manuscript.

Formal Complaints

The journal accepts formal complaints related to possible irregularities in the editorial process, including, among others, editorial misconduct, undeclared conflicts of interest, non-compliance with editorial policies, unjustified delays, or inappropriate treatment during the evaluation process.

Complaints must be submitted in writing and will be managed in a confidential, documented, and objective manner. The Editorial Committee will evaluate each case according to COPE procedures and adopt corresponding corrective measures when necessary.

Resolution and Confidentiality

Decisions derived from complaint and appeal processes will be formally communicated to the parties involved and documented internally. The journal commits to managing these processes within reasonable timeframes, guaranteeing respect for due process and the confidentiality of information.

Final decisions adopted following an appeal or complaint are definitive. This policy reaffirms the commitment of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología to equity, transparency, and editorial responsibility.

17. Privacy and Personal Data Protection Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología is committed to guaranteeing the protection, confidentiality, and responsible use of the personal data of authors, reviewers, editors, and users, in accordance with international data protection principles and good editorial practices promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Personal data collected through the Open Journal System (OJS) platform, including names, institutional affiliations, email addresses, ORCID identifiers, and other contact information, are used exclusively for editorial, scientific communication, and management of the review and publication process. The journal does not sell, rent, or share personal data with third parties for commercial purposes or those unrelated to its editorial activity.

Information provided by authors is used for identification, attribution of authorship, editorial communication, and proper indexing of published articles. Reviewers' data are used solely for the management of the peer review process and are kept under strict confidentiality rules. The identity of authors and reviewers is protected according to the double-blind peer review model adopted by the journal.

Manuscripts submitted for evaluation, review reports, and editorial communications are treated as confidential information and must not be disclosed or used for purposes other than the editorial process. Reviewers and editors commit to respecting this confidentiality as part of their ethical responsibilities.

The journal implements reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information stored in its systems, including access controls, periodic backup of information, and secure management of the OJS platform. Users may request the update, correction, or deletion of their personal data by communicating with the editorial team when this is compatible with the journal's editorial and legal obligations.

This policy is an integral part of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología's commitment to transparency, the trust of the scientific community, and the protection of individual rights, and applies to all participants in the editorial process.

18. Digital Preservation Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología implements a formal long-term digital preservation policy, aimed at guaranteeing the integrity, availability, and permanent accessibility of all published content, regardless of technological or institutional changes or eventual failures of publishing systems.

As a primary preservation mechanism, the journal uses the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) system, an international digital preservation infrastructure that allows for the creation of multiple identical copies of published articles, distributed in a decentralized manner across participating libraries and nodes. This system ensures the continuous recovery and availability of content in the event of data loss, technological failure, cyber incidents, or interruptions to the journal's website.

Complementarily, the journal performs automatic and periodic backups of all its editorial content and metadata on secure servers, following standard information backup and recovery practices. These copies include the full files of the articles in their different publication formats (PDF, XML, and HTML), as well as associated metadata.

Additionally, the journal has an institutional repository managed by SODOGASTRO, in which all published issues are stored and preserved in their entirety, constituting a permanent institutional archive and an additional mechanism for preservation and access. This repository guarantees the historical availability of content and its long-term consultation by the scientific community.

Each article published in the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología receives a permanent digital identifier (DOI), which allows for its unambiguous location, citation, and recovery over time, regardless of changes in the URL or the journal's technological infrastructure. DOI assignment is an integral part of the strategy for preservation and traceability of the scientific record.

This digital preservation policy aligns with the criteria for good editorial practices required by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Latindex quality standards, and international recommendations for the conservation of the academic record, guaranteeing the long-term stability and reliability of the content published by the journal.

19. Editorial Transparency Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología maintains an explicit editorial transparency policy through the open, updated, and accessible publication of the composition of its Editorial Committee on the journal's official website. This information includes, at a minimum, the full names of the members, their institutional affiliations, country of origin, and their areas of academic or clinical specialization, allowing authors, reviewers, and readers to clearly identify editorial competencies and responsibilities.

The disclosure of this information aims to strengthen trust in the editorial process, facilitate accountability, and guarantee independence in editorial decision-making. The journal commits to keeping this information updated, reflecting promptly any changes in the composition of the Editorial Committee or in the functions assigned to its members.

Transparency in the editorial structure constitutes a central component of the scientific publication good practices adopted by the journal and is implemented in accordance with the principles promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Latindex editorial quality criteria, and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This policy reinforces the commitment of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología to ethical, responsible, and independent editorial management.

20. Policy on Website Guidelines

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología explicitly adopts and applies the guidelines for medical and health information websites developed by the American Medical Association (AMA) as a reference framework for the management, publication, and maintenance of content disseminated through its official website and associated digital platforms.

These guidelines aim to ensure that the medical and scientific information published is accurate, ethical, evidence-based, and of high quality, promoting editorial transparency and strengthening trust among users, authors, and the journal as a provider of scientific information. In accordance with these principles, the journal ensures clear disclosure of website ownership, identification of the responsible publishing entity, and description of the editorial and governance structure of the publication.

The journal establishes an explicit boundary between editorial content and any content of a commercial, promotional, or institutional nature, guaranteeing that editorial decisions and published scientific content are not influenced by commercial interests. Any material that does not correspond to editorial content will be clearly identified as such, in accordance with AMA recommendations and international good practices for editorial transparency.

Furthermore, the journal commits to the periodic updating of website content in order to ensure its validity, accuracy, and scientific relevance. All published medical information must be supported by reliable scientific evidence, properly cited, and comply with the ethical and editorial standards established by the journal. Conflicts of interest related to the content published on the website must be declared in a clear and accessible manner for users.

The implementation of these guidelines is an integral part of the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología's editorial transparency policy and aligns with the quality criteria required by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Latindex editorial standards, and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

For detailed consultation of the adopted guidelines, reference is made to the original document: Winker MA, Flanagin A, Chi-Lum B, et al. Guidelines for Medical and Health Information Sites on the Internet: Principles Governing AMA Web Sites. JAMA. 2000;283(12):1600–1606. doi:10.1001/jama.283.12.1600

21. Clinical Trial Registration Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología requires the prior and public registration of all clinical trials as an indispensable condition for their editorial evaluation and eventual publication. Clinical trials are considered to be prospective studies that assign human participants to one or more health-related interventions with the objective of evaluating effects on health outcomes.

Clinical trials must be registered before the start of participant inclusion in a recognized public registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov or any other registry accepted by the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP).

The registration number, the name of the registry, and the registration date must be explicitly declared in the manuscript, preferably in the Materials and Methods section. Manuscripts that do not comply with this requirement may be rejected without being sent for peer review, except in exceptional circumstances duly justified and evaluated by the Editorial Committee.

This policy is implemented according to the recommendations of the ICMJE, COPE, and international standards for transparency in clinical research.

22. Preprint Policy

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología allows the submission of manuscripts that have been previously deposited as preprints, provided that such condition is declared explicitly, transparently, and completely by the authors at the time of submission.

Authors must indicate:

The name of the preprint server (for example: medRxiv, bioRxiv, or another recognized repository).
The permanent link (URL or DOI) of the preprint.
The deposit date.

Deposit in a preprint server is not considered prior publication and does not compromise the originality of the manuscript. However, authors commit not to update the preprint with revised versions that incorporate changes derived from the peer review process while the manuscript is under editorial evaluation.

In the event of article acceptance, authors must update the preprint record, indicating that the work has been published in the Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología, including the corresponding reference and DOI.

23. Author Contribution Policy (CRediT)

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología recommends the use of the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) taxonomy to clearly, in a standardized way, and transparently describe the individual contributions of each author to the manuscript.

Contributions may include, among others: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, research, writing of the original draft, review and editing, visualization, supervision, and project administration.

The CRediT declaration is not mandatory, but its use is highly recommended as a good editorial and transparency practice. When used, it must be included in a specific section of the manuscript titled "Author Contributions."

The adoption of this taxonomy does not modify or replace the ICMJE authorship criteria, which remain mandatory.

24. Policy on Images and Figures (Integrity and Manipulation)

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología requires that all images, figures, and graphic representations faithfully reflect the original data and maintain the scientific integrity of the presented material.

Minimal and global adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color are allowed only when applied uniformly to the entire image and do not alter, hide, remove, or distort relevant information.

The following are considered malpractice and are not permitted:

Selective manipulation of parts of an image.
The removal, addition, or duplication of visual elements.
The use of filters that modify the meaning of the findings.
The reuse of previously published images without citation or authorization.
The presentation of images generated or altered using artificial intelligence without explicit declaration.

The journal reserves the right to request original unprocessed images (raw data) at any stage of the editorial process. Inappropriate image manipulation will be considered a serious breach of academic integrity and may lead to manuscript rejection or subsequent editorial measures, in accordance with COPE guidelines.

25. Policy on Availability of Materials, Data, and Code

The Revista Dominicana de Gastroenterología actively promotes the reproducibility and transparency of scientific research. When applicable, authors are encouraged to make available materials, instruments, protocols, data sets, and source code used in the study.

Authors must include a section titled "Availability of Data and Materials," indicating:

What data, materials, or code are available.
The public repository where they are deposited (for example: Zenodo, Dryad, figshare, GitHub, institutional repositories).
The corresponding persistent identifier (DOI or permanent link), when applicable.

When public availability is not possible for ethical, legal, contractual, or confidentiality reasons, authors must explicitly declare this, justifying the limitations and indicating, when feasible, the conditions under which materials or data could be accessed in a controlled manner.

The unjustified absence of an availability statement may be considered during the editorial evaluation. This policy aligns with open science principles, ICMJE recommendations, COPE, and DOAJ quality criteria.