Journal of the Kenya Association of Physicians

About the Journal

The Journal of the Kenya Association of Physicians (JOKAP) is a peer-reviewed, open-access medical journal dedicated to advancing clinical medicine, public health, and medical research in Africa and beyond. Published biannually in March and September, JOKAP serves as a platform for disseminating high-quality research, clinical case studies, systematic reviews, and expert perspectives that contribute to evidence-based medical practice.

JOKAP adheres to the highest standards of ethical publishing and scientific integrity, following the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (COPE Guidelines) and the International Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME) principles. We are committed to maintaining transparency, editorial independence, and rigorous peer review standards.

Scope and Focus

JOKAP publishes original research, review articles, case reports, editorials, and commentaries on topics related to internal medicine, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, health policy, and emerging healthcare challenges relevant to the African continent and globally.

Editorial and Peer Review Process

All submitted manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process by at least two independent reviewers to ensure quality, validity, and originality. The final decision rests with the editorial board, guided by the reviewers' recommendations. Authors are informed of editorial decisions within a structured timeline, ensuring an efficient and transparent review process. 

Ethical Standards

JOKAP follows strict ethical guidelines based on COPE (COPE Principles) and ICMJE (ICMJE Recommendations) principles. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to ethical publishing practices, including but not limited to:

• Authorship & Contributions: All listed authors must have made a significant contribution to the research and agree to the final manuscript. Authors are encouraged to include their Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) (ORCID Registration) for accurate identification and citation.
• Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest as per ICMJE guidelines (ICMJE COI Form). Authors are required to reveal any conflicts of interest when they submit the manuscript, using the form published by the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The information contained in the disclosure statement has no bearing on the editorial decision to publish a manuscript. A summary of the statements selected by the author or authors will be printed with the published article and each author’s completed ICJME disclosure statement is available online.

Sources of funding must be disclosed in the manuscript text.

Editors, Reviewers, editorial associates and/or editorial interns may have a conflict of interest or a competing interest with regard to the subject matter of a manuscript. Such conflicts are disclosed to the handling editor and/or the Editor-in-Chief as early in the review process as possible. If warranted, a different reviewer will be asked to evaluate the manuscript or the paper will be reassigned to another editor.

• Authors are required to disclose any funding sources that supported their research in the manuscript's acknowledgment section, following ICMJE funding disclosure guidelines (ICMJE Funding Statement).
• Plagiarism & Data Fabrication: Manuscripts must be original and free from plagiarism or falsified data. JOKAP uses plagiarism detection software to screen all submissions. If plagiarism is identified, the COPE guidelines on plagiarism will be followed.
• Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Manuscript Preparation: Authors are permitted to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as large language models (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini) to support language refinement, grammar correction, and summarization of existing, author-generated content. However, the threshold of acceptable use must be observed to preserve academic integrity.
• Permissible uses include:
• Improving clarity and flow of author-written text.
• Summarizing sections already drafted by the author.
• Assisting in formatting references or checking grammar.
• Unacceptable uses include:
• Generating novel research content, interpretations, or conclusions without proper human oversight.
• Submitting AI-generated text as original author contributions.
• Using AI tools to draft peer reviews or critique scientific work on behalf of the author.
• Guidance and Requirements:
• AI tools must not be listed as authors.
• Any use of AI must be transparently disclosed in the manuscript, ideally in the acknowledgments section (e.g., “This manuscript was edited using ChatGPT for language clarity.”).
• Authors remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, and originality of all submitted work, regardless of the tools used.
• Exceeding the threshold of AI use without proper attribution may be considered a breach of publication ethics. The journal reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate action in such cases.
• Human & Animal Research Ethics: Studies involving human or animal subjects must have obtained necessary ethical approvals and informed consent in compliance with WMA Declaration of Helsinki (Helsinki Declaration). In the preparation of a manuscript, authors should, in general, follow the recommendations in Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.​

Patient consent must be obtained for all human studies, and that must be stated in the manuscript. If such consent has not been obtained, a letter of explanation must be included with the submission. The authors are responsible for obtaining and retaining the documentation of such permission. Patient confidentiality must be protected in accordance with the relevant legal provision of the country of study.

All studies submitted for publication must indicate IRB approval or approval by a similar ethics board, and such approval must be noted in the manuscript. Further, informed consent files should also be submitted or a waiver form from the respective IRB for the same

All clinical trials submitted for consideration (i.e., any clinical study in which patients are randomized into two treatment groups OR are followed prospectively to compare two different treatments) must have been registered in a public trials registry such as www.clinicaltrials.gov. Trials should be registered at the start of the research.

All manuscripts dealing with experimental results in animals must include a statement that the study has been approved by an animal utilization study committee. The Editor-in-Chief may further investigate that statement.

• Research & Publication Misconduct: JOKAP follows COPE's Retraction Guidelines (COPE Retraction Guidelines) to handle cases of research or publication misconduct, including falsification, fabrication, duplicate submission, and redundant publication.
• Misconduct (Research, Publication, and Plagiarism): JOKAP takes all forms of misconduct seriously. Cases of plagiarism, duplicate submission, and research fraud will result in immediate rejection or retraction. We adhere to COPE’s best practices in addressing ethical breaches.

• Originality, Prior Publication, and Reproduction of Images

Authors must confirm that their submitted work is original and has not been previously published or is under consideration elsewhere. If portions of a manuscript, including figures or tables, have been published previously, authors must provide appropriate permissions and citations.

• Image Integrity: Figures and images must not be manipulated beyond necessary brightness and contrast adjustments. Authors must provide raw data upon request.

Publication Policies

Article Withdrawal, Retraction, and Corrections

JOKAP adheres to internationally recognized standards for handling post-publication issues, including those set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

• Article Withdrawal
  Authors may request the withdrawal of a submitted manuscript before formal acceptance.

  • If the withdrawal is requested after peer review has commenced, a written justification must be submitted to the editorial office.

  • Manuscripts may also be withdrawn by the editorial team prior to publication (including during "in press" status) in cases involving ethical misconduct, duplicate submission, or fabrication/falsification of data.

  Article Retraction
  Retractions are issued when:

  • There is clear evidence of plagiarism, data manipulation, or academic misconduct;

  • There are significant errors that invalidate the findings;

  • Ethical breaches (e.g., undisclosed conflicts of interest) are discovered.

  A formal retraction notice will be published and linked to the original article. The notice will explain the reason for retraction and remain part of the permanent scholarly record in accordance with COPE guidelines.

  Article Removal
  In extremely rare cases, an article may be removed for legal or ethical reasons such as:

  • Defamation

  • Violation of privacy rights

  • Court orders or legal threats

  • National security concerns

  In such cases:

  • The title, author(s), and metadata (e.g., DOI) will be retained;

  • The content will be replaced with a tombstone page and a formal statement indicating that the article has been removed and explaining the reason for removal;

  • The DOI will remain active and will resolve to the tombstone page.

  Corrections and Errata
  When minor errors are identified post-publication that do not affect the overall conclusions of the article:

  • A correction (erratum or corrigendum) will be published;

  • It will be clearly labeled and directly linked to the original article;

  • Significant corrections that affect the understanding or interpretation of the work will be flagged prominently.

  Article Replacement
  JOKAP generally does not support article replacement as a remedy for serious post-publication issues.
  In exceptional and clearly defined cases, the editorial board may consider article replacement, such as:

  • A critical error discovered post-publication that does not involve misconduct, and where a corrected version is essential for the scientific record;

  • A correction cannot be reasonably implemented as an erratum due to the scope of the change.

  In such instances, the original article would be retracted and replaced with a new version, accompanied by a detailed editorial note explaining the revision and its rationale. These cases will be rare and subject to full editorial board review and transparency.

Language and Formatting Requirements

All manuscripts must be written in clear, professional English. Authors should adhere to standard academic writing and follow the ICMJE formatting guidelines. Non-native English speakers are encouraged to seek language editing assistance prior to submission.

Sources of Funding and Support

The journal is currently funded by a one-year grant from Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) and the Wellcome Trust, and receives ongoing financial support from its parent association, the Kenya Association of Physicians.

Open Access & Archiving

JOKAP is an open-access journal, ensuring free availability of all articles to the public. Articles are archived on the PKP Preservation Network (PN), CLOCKSS, LOCKSS and this website. Articles may also be found on African Journals Online.