Advertising policy

1. Whether we accept advertising

IV Journal accepts display advertising and sponsorship from relevant commercial and professional organisations. Advertising revenue supports our Diamond Open Access model, allowing us to publish free of charge for both authors and readers.

Acceptance of advertising does not imply IV Journal's endorsement of any product, service, or organisation, and all advertising is subject to the restrictions set out in this policy.

2. Which types of advertisement we consider

We consider a range of formats, subject to review by our editorial team.

Formats we accept

• Display advertising (banners, leaderboards, and rectangles) on main pages and within articles
• Sponsored articles and features, clearly labelled as advertising
• Sponsorship of collections, awards, webinars, and events

What we will not accept

• Advertising for harmful products, including tobacco and related products
• Advertising for prescription-only medicines aimed at the public
• Advertising promoting medicines or devices for unlicensed indications
• Advertising making unsupported or unsubstantiated clinical claims
• Advertising for breast-milk substitutes, in line with the WHO International Code
• Advertising for unproven or unregulated therapies
• Advertising for essay-writing or academic ghostwriting services
• Advertising for predatory journals or predatory conferences
• Advertising making false claims of endorsement by IV Journal or IVTEAM
• Advertising designed to resemble editorial content or site navigation
• Pop-up advertising or adverts with auto-playing audio or video
• Advertising related to gambling, weapons, political campaigning, or religious promotion
• Advertising that is otherwise unlawful, discriminatory, or misleading

This list is not exhaustive. The Editor-in-Chief may decline any advertisement at their discretion, even where it is not explicitly listed above.

3. Who decides

The Editor-in-Chief holds final authority over all advertising and sponsorship decisions, including which advertisements are accepted, declined, or removed.

Commercial and advertising staff are kept separate from editorial decision-making. The commercial team cannot approve, override, or influence editorial or peer review decisions, and editorial staff have no role in negotiating advertising terms.

Where an advertising or sponsorship arrangement is agreed, the Editor-in-Chief is notified in advance of publication.

4. How advertisements are placed (random, not linked to content)

Advertisements are served at random across the site and are not linked or targeted to the content of any specific article, author, or search term.

• Adverts are never linked to a specific article or author based on its subject matter
• We do not use behavioural or retargeted advertising based on individual reading history
• Reader data is never shared with advertisers
• Only aggregate, anonymised traffic statistics are used for reporting to advertisers

We do not knowingly place an advertisement for a product or service directly alongside an article discussing that same product or service.

Where relevant, advertising may be rotated according to broad subject tags (for example, vascular access or infection prevention) rather than individual articles, to help ensure relevance without compromising independence.

5. Keeping advertising separate from published content

• Advertising is visually distinct from editorial content at all times, using clear borders, labelling, or shading
• Advertising never appears within the body text of an article
• Readers can always distinguish between editorial content and paid content at a glance

6. Sponsored content

IV Journal occasionally publishes sponsored content, such as sponsored articles or features, commissioned and paid for by a commercial organisation.

Sponsored content is not part of the scholarly record. It is not assigned a DOI, is not registered with Crossref or indexed by DOAJ, and does not carry a volume, issue, or citation metrics.

How sponsored content is identified

• Clearly labelled "Advertisement Feature" at the top of the piece
• The sponsoring organisation is named
• Sponsored content is visually distinct and placed in a separate section from editorial articles
• The source of funding is disclosed within the content itself

What sponsored content may not do

• Make direct claims of endorsement by IV Journal, IVTEAM, or the editorial board
• Make claims about the standard of care without appropriate evidence
• Make unsupported comparative claims against other products or services
• Misrepresent published research or clinical evidence
• Include patient information or images without documented consent
• Be formatted to resemble an original peer-reviewed article

Authorship, control, and payment

Sponsored content may be authored by the sponsor, by IV Journal on the sponsor's behalf, or jointly, but final editorial control over tone, accuracy, and compliance with this policy rests with IV Journal.

Payment for sponsored content covers editorial support, production, and placement. It does not purchase editorial approval of claims that cannot be supported by evidence.

Pricing, duration, and correction

Sponsored content is priced according to our rate card and remains live for an agreed duration. If a factual error is identified after publication, IV Journal will correct or, where necessary, remove the content.

7. Advertising and editorial decisions

Advertising and sponsorship have no influence on which manuscripts are accepted, on the outcome of peer review, or on the editorial content of any article.

No advertiser or sponsor is given advance sight of, influence over, or approval rights on unrelated editorial content.

8. Regulatory and industry standards

Where advertising relates to healthcare products or services aimed at UK audiences, it must comply with the UK Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code for non-broadcast advertising.

Where advertising relates to pharmaceutical products, it must additionally comply with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Code of Practice.

See: UK CAP Code and ABPI Code of Practice.

9. Complaints about advertising

If you have a concern about an advertisement or sponsored content on IV Journal, please contact us at team@ivteam.com.

We aim to acknowledge all advertising complaints within 5 working days.

Where a complaint cannot be resolved directly, it may be escalated to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) or, for pharmaceutical advertising, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA).

10. Review of this policy

This policy is reviewed annually by the Editor-in-Chief to ensure it remains consistent with ICMJE recommendations, DOAJ transparency principles, and relevant UK advertising regulation.