1. Purpose

The Journal of Integrated Maternal and Pediatric Care (JIMPC) is committed to the long-term preservation, integrity, and accessibility of the scholarly record. This policy sets out the journal’s approach to:

• Archiving all published content to ensure permanent and unrestricted access;
• Preserving research data and materials underlying published articles;
• Ensuring transparency and compliance with international standards for digital preservation and research integrity.

This policy applies to all content published in JIMPC, including original articles, reviews, case reports, brief reports, editorials, commentaries, letters to the editor, and supplementary materials.

2. Journal Content Archiving

2.1 Permanent Preservation

JIMPC is committed to the permanent preservation of all published articles. All content is:

• Stored on secure, professionally managed servers with regular backup;
• Assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to ensure persistent linking and citability;
• Published in PDF format (and HTML where applicable) to ensure broad accessibility;
• Retained indefinitely, even if the journal ceases publication or changes publisher.

2.2 Digital Preservation Initiatives

JIMPC participates in recognized digital preservation initiatives to ensure long-term access. Where available, the journal deposits content with:

• Portico or CLOCKSS (or equivalent trusted digital archive);
• PKP PN (PKP Preservation Network) for journals using Open Journal Systems (OJS);
• National and international library archives, as appropriate.

In the event that JIMPC is no longer published, all archived content will remain accessible through these preservation services and the journal’s website.

2.3 Access and Licensing

All archived content is made freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). There are no subscription or access fees. Archiving does not alter the open-access status of published articles.

2.4 Metadata Preservation

JIMPC preserves complete metadata for all articles, including title, authors, affiliations, abstract, keywords, references, DOI, and publication date. Metadata is made available to indexing and abstracting services and is retained in the journal’s archive.

3. Research Data Preservation

3.1 Author Responsibility

Authors are required to retain the raw data and materials underlying their published articles for at least ten years after publication, in accordance with ICMJE recommendations and international best practice. Data must be made available to the Editor upon reasonable request.

3.2 Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement indicating where the data supporting the findings can be accessed. This may include:

• A public repository (e.g., Figshare, Zenodo, Dryad, OSF);
• Supplementary material published with the article;
• A statement that data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request;
• A statement that data sharing is not applicable (with justification).

3.3 FAIR Data Principles

JIMPC strongly encourages authors to deposit research data in FAIR-compliant (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) repositories. Where data are deposited, authors should provide a persistent identifier (e.g., DOI) in the Data Availability Statement.

3.4 Sensitive and Restricted Data

Where data cannot be shared publicly due to ethical, legal, or privacy restrictions, authors must:

• Explain the restriction in the Data Availability Statement;
• Provide a contact mechanism for reasonable requests;
• Confirm that data sharing complies with participant consent and ethics approval.

4. Supplementary Materials

Supplementary files (e.g., datasets, questionnaires, coding scripts, images) are archived alongside the article and are subject to the same preservation and access principles. Authors are encouraged to submit supplementary materials in open, non-proprietary formats where possible.

5. Responsibilities

• Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board: Ensure compliance with this policy and oversee archiving arrangements.
• Editorial Office: Maintain secure backups, manage DOI registration, and coordinate with preservation services.
• Authors: Retain raw data, provide accurate Data Availability Statements, and comply with data sharing requirements.
• Publisher (Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences): Provide institutional support for long-term archiving and preservation infrastructure.

6. Review and Updates

This policy will be reviewed periodically and updated in line with developments in digital preservation, open science, and international standards (including COPE, ICMJE, and FAIR principles). Any changes will be published on the journal website.

7. Contact

For questions about this policy or to request archived content, please contact:

Journal of Integrated Maternal and Pediatric Care (JIMPC)
Mother and Newborn Health Research Center
Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Ibn Sina Blvd., Yazd, Iran
Email: jimpc@ssu.ac.ir
Website: http://jimpc.ssu.ac.ir