GENERATIVE AI POLICIES

These policies explain how authors, editors, and peer reviewers of Jurnal Ilmiah Kesehatan Masyarakat, abbreviated as SEHATMAS, may and may not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The journal supports responsible innovation, and it also protects the accuracy of the scientific record, the confidentiality of research and review, and the privacy of research participants.

In short. Generative AI tools can assist with language and with some research tasks, but they cannot be authors, and they cannot replace the thinking, the data, or the responsibility of the researcher. Authors must check everything that an AI tool produces, and they must disclose its use.

1. Introduction

Generative AI tools can support idea development, research workflows, the analysis of data, and the quality of writing. They can also help authors who write in a second language and can speed up the sharing of research. At the same time, they bring risks that matter greatly in public health and the health sciences, where published findings can influence clinical practice, health programs, and public policy. These policies are informed by the guidance of publishing and editorial organizations, including STM and WAME, and by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on which the Publication Ethics statement of the journal is based. The journal will update them as technology and standards change.

1.1 What Is Generative AI?

In this policy, generative AI means tools that produce new text, images, audio, code, or synthetic data in response to a prompt. Examples include ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Claude, and similar chatbots and image generators. The policy applies to such tools whatever their name or provider.

1.2 Main Risks

No.	Risk	Why it matters
1	Inaccuracy and bias	Tools can produce content that is wrong, biased, or invented, which is often called "hallucination". Wrong content in a health article can mislead readers.
2	Weak attribution	Tools may reproduce the ideas, quotations, and sources of others without credit, or may give citations that are inaccurate.
3	Confidentiality and intellectual property	Text, data, or files that are entered into a third party platform may leave the control of the authors, the reviewers, or the journal.
4	Unintended reuse	Providers may use the inputs and outputs of users to train their models, which can expose unpublished work and participant data.

2. Policies at a Glance

Use of generative AI	Status	Condition
Improving grammar, language, and readability, and translating the authors' own text	Allowed with conditions	The authors verify the output and disclose the use.
Generating ideas, searching and categorizing literature, and supporting coding	Allowed with conditions	The authors verify the output and disclose the use.
Studying AI tools, or using them in a study, an intervention, or an instrument	Allowed with conditions	The use is described in the Method section.
Listing an AI tool as an author	Not allowed	No exception.
Submitting AI text or code that the authors have not reviewed and edited	Not allowed	No exception.
Replacing missing empirical data with synthetic data without a sound method	Not allowed	No exception.
Creating or altering images, figures, or original research data	Not allowed	No exception.
Citing AI generated references that were not verified	Not allowed	No exception.
Uploading unpublished manuscripts or related files to AI tools (editors and reviewers)	Not allowed	No exception.
Using AI to evaluate, summarize, or assess a manuscript (reviewers)	Not allowed	AI may be used only to improve the language of the review report.

3. Policies for Authors

3.1 Permitted Use

Authors may use generative AI tools to improve the grammar, the language, and the readability of their manuscript. They may also use such tools for generating ideas, for interactive literature searches, for categorizing literature, and for supporting coding. Authors may translate their own text, for example the abstract, with an AI tool, but they must check that the translation is accurate. Every use must be verified and disclosed (see section 3.9).

3.2 Accountability and Human Authorship

Principle	What it means
Full responsibility	The authors remain fully responsible for the originality, the accuracy, the validity, and the ethics of the manuscript, including every part that was prepared with AI assistance.
Verification	The authors must check all AI assisted content against reliable sources. Content that concerns clinical practice, public health recommendations, or statistics needs particular care.
Human work	The work must be written fundamentally by humans, with human oversight and transparency throughout the research process.
Related policies	Authors must also follow the Authorship and Contributorship and Publication Ethics policies.
Editorial decision	SEHATMAS decides whether a manuscript is published. The use of AI tools does not change the standards of review.

3.3 AI Tools Cannot Be Authors

Generative AI tools must not be listed as authors or co authors. An AI tool cannot take responsibility for the work, cannot consent to publication, and cannot sign copyright or licensing agreements. Contributions of a tool are acknowledged through the disclosure statement, and not through authorship.

3.4 Reliance on AI That Is Not Acceptable

A manuscript must not contain any of the following. Such practices may lead to editorial review or investigation.

No.	Not acceptable
1	Text or code that was produced by AI and that the authors have not reviewed and edited.
2	Synthetic data that replace missing empirical data, unless a sound and clearly described method is used and reported.
3	Inaccurate AI produced content anywhere in the manuscript, including the abstract and the supplementary material.

3.5 Images, Figures, and Data

Generative AI must not be used to create or to alter images, figures, or original research data that are intended for publication. This covers charts, tables, medical images, clinical or field photographs, parts of images, code, and formulas. Adding, removing, hiding, or moving elements of an image counts as alteration. Where AI is part of the method of a study, for example in image analysis, the use must be described in the Method section.

3.6 References and Citations

Generative AI tools can produce references that look real but do not exist. Authors must check every reference and every DOI against the original source. Fabricated or falsified references are research misconduct and are handled under the Plagiarism and Research Integrity Policy.

3.7 Research About AI in Health

Studying AI tools, for example how health workers, patients, or community members use them, or using AI as an intervention, a health education material, or a research instrument, is different from using AI to prepare a manuscript. Such research is welcome when it follows the usual ethical standards. The authors must describe in the Method section the name of the tool, its version, how it was used, and the relevant settings.

3.8 Confidentiality and Participant Data

Do not upload to AI tools	Condition
Personal or identifiable data of patients, respondents, informants, or other participants, including data from health records	Only when the informed consent of the participants allows it and the terms of the tool give adequate protection.
Unpublished research data	Only when the same conditions are met.

Authors must confirm that the terms of any tool they use protect intellectual property, confidentiality, and data security. Health data are sensitive, and the safest practice is to remove all identifiers before data are used with any external tool.

3.9 Disclosure

Every use of generative AI in the preparation of a manuscript must be disclosed. The disclosure statement must contain the following.

Item	What to state
Tool	The name of the tool and its version.
Use	How the tool was used.
Purpose	Why the tool was used.
Responsibility	That the authors reviewed and edited the output and take full responsibility for the content.

If AI was used for	Place the disclosure in
Language editing or translation	The Acknowledgements section
The research process, for example coding support or the categorization of literature	The Method section

Example of a disclosure statement.
During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name of the tool and version] to [purpose of the use]. After using this tool, the authors reviewed and edited the output and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.

4. Policies for Editors and Peer Reviewers

Uploading unpublished manuscripts, images, files, or related information to generative AI tools is prohibited. Doing so may breach confidentiality and the intellectual property rights of the authors.

Role	Rules
Editors	Protect the confidentiality of submissions and of the review process. Do not upload unpublished materials, including manuscripts, images, and reviewer reports, to generative AI platforms.
Peer reviewers	Do not use AI to evaluate, summarize, or assess a manuscript. Do not upload unpublished content, including files and images, to AI tools. AI may be used only to improve the language of the review report. Reviewers remain fully responsible for the accuracy, the judgment, and the integrity of their reviews.

More about the review is available on the Peer Review Process page.

5. Handling of Violations

Topic	How the journal responds
Examination	Suspected violations are examined under the Allegations of Misconduct policy.
Possible outcomes	Depending on the seriousness of the case: a request for clarification or revision, or rejection of the manuscript.
Published articles	Action under the Correction and Retraction policy.
Competing interests	Any competing interest that is related to AI tools, for example a financial relationship with a provider, must be declared under the Conflicts of Interest policy.

Related Pages and Enquiries

Topic	Page
Where to place the disclosure statement	Author Guidelines and Manuscript Preparation
Authorship	Authorship and Contributorship
Ethical principles and originality	Publication Ethics and Plagiarism and Research Integrity Policy
Concerns and corrections	Allegations of Misconduct and Correction and Retraction