The Boston Congress of Public Health Review (BCPHR) accepts advertising and sponsored placements as one means of supporting the costs of open-access publishing. This policy governs all advertising, sponsorship, and direct-marketing activity associated with BCPHR and its publisher, the Boston Congress of Public Health (BCPH). It is modeled on the advertising standards of leading peer-reviewed journals and the guidance of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). The governing principle is simple: advertising must never influence editorial decisions, and readers must always be able to distinguish advertising from independent editorial content.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made solely on the basis of scientific merit, relevance, and integrity, and are never influenced by current or potential advertisers, sponsors, or commercial partners. Advertisers and sponsors have no advance knowledge of editorial content, no input into manuscript selection or peer review, and no ability to suppress, delay, or alter the publication of any article. The sales and editorial functions of the journal operate independently.

Standards for Acceptable Advertising

All advertising is subject to review and approval by the publisher, which reserves the right to decline, cancel, or remove any advertisement at any time, at its sole discretion. Advertisements must be factual, evidence-based, and compliant with all applicable laws and regulations.

Separation & Labeling

Advertisements are clearly identifiable as such and are visually distinct from editorial content. Sponsored or promotional material is explicitly labeled (for example, "Advertisement" or "Sponsored"). BCPHR does not permit advertising to be interleaved with the text of an article in a way that could confuse a reader about what is independent scholarship and what is paid promotion. Advertising is not placed adjacent to editorial content that addresses the same product or subject, and acceptance of an advertisement does not constitute endorsement of the product or service by BCPHR or BCPH.

Sponsored Content & Supplements

Any sponsored supplement, special collection, or commercially supported content is disclosed transparently, including identification of the funding source. Such content remains subject to the journal's editorial oversight and the same standards of accuracy and integrity that govern all BCPHR material. Sponsorship of a collection never confers control over its editorial content.

Direct Marketing

BCPHR and BCPH may engage in direct marketing — including email campaigns, newsletters, and postal mailings — to promote the journal, its content, events, and related programs. All direct marketing is conducted responsibly and in compliance with applicable data-protection and anti-spam laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act.

• Consent and preference. Marketing communications are sent on an appropriate legal basis, and recipients may opt out or unsubscribe at any time through a clear mechanism in every message.
• No sale of personal data. BCPHR does not sell reader, author, or reviewer personal information. Contact lists are not rented or transferred to third-party advertisers for their independent use.
• Third-party campaigns. Where a sponsor wishes to reach the BCPHR audience, any such campaign is administered by the journal or its agents so that subscriber contact details are not disclosed to the sponsor, and only with appropriate consent.
• Honest framing. Direct-marketing messages clearly identify BCPH/BCPHR as the sender and do not use deceptive subject lines or headers.

Reader Privacy

Protecting the privacy of readers, authors, and reviewers is integral to this policy. Data collected through the website and marketing channels are handled in accordance with the journal's privacy practices, used only for the purposes for which they were collected, and safeguarded against unauthorized disclosure. Online advertising served through the BCPHR website does not compromise the confidentiality of user activity beyond what is disclosed in the journal's privacy notice.

Complaints & Enforcement

Concerns about any advertisement or marketing communication may be submitted to the BCPHR editorial office and will be reviewed promptly. The publisher will remove or correct any advertising found to violate this policy. Final authority over all advertising and marketing decisions rests with the publisher.

This policy aligns with the advertising standards of leading peer-reviewed medical and public health journals and the recommendations of ICMJE and WAME.