Artificial intelligence in health professions education publishing: a content analysis of journal and publisher guidance
Author(s)
Saravanan, Sruthi
Chan, See Chai Carol
Rashid, Mohammed Ahmed
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being widely used by authors, reviewers and editors in the academic publishing process. However, there remains ambiguity about the boundaries of AI use. Amid this growing uncertainty, editors and publishers face an ongoing tension between a desire to advance the academic publishing process and a need to uphold scientific integrity. This study examined advisory and guideline statements about AI use by health professions education (HPE) journals.
Methods
We collected a corpus of texts relating to the use of AI in HPE journals from 22 HPE journals, 6 respective publishers and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) policies in January 2026 relating to the use of AI in academic publishing. The corpus was examined using content analysis.
Results
Five main themes were identified from the analysis: 1) Accountable governance, 2) Protection of ethical standards, 3) Safeguarding of research integrity, 4) Maintenance of human oversight, and 5) Balancing of opportunities and risk.
Discussion
Overall, HPE journals predominantly frame the use of AI in academic publishing as a risk rather than an opportunity, with the overarching concern being a potential compromise of scientific integrity. Editors need to manage various tensions related to AI use and disclosure, including ensuring that policies keep up with the speed of technological advancement, and potentially broader impacts on the scholarly HPE field. As guidance on AI use continues to evolve, authors, reviewers and editors must ensure that they actively maintain and optimise their policies and practices in response to emerging evidence, including of unintended consequences.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being widely used by authors, reviewers and editors in the academic publishing process. However, there remains ambiguity about the boundaries of AI use. Amid this growing uncertainty, editors and publishers face an ongoing tension between a desire to advance the academic publishing process and a need to uphold scientific integrity. This study examined advisory and guideline statements about AI use by health professions education (HPE) journals.
Methods
We collected a corpus of texts relating to the use of AI in HPE journals from 22 HPE journals, 6 respective publishers and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) policies in January 2026 relating to the use of AI in academic publishing. The corpus was examined using content analysis.
Results
Five main themes were identified from the analysis: 1) Accountable governance, 2) Protection of ethical standards, 3) Safeguarding of research integrity, 4) Maintenance of human oversight, and 5) Balancing of opportunities and risk.
Discussion
Overall, HPE journals predominantly frame the use of AI in academic publishing as a risk rather than an opportunity, with the overarching concern being a potential compromise of scientific integrity. Editors need to manage various tensions related to AI use and disclosure, including ensuring that policies keep up with the speed of technological advancement, and potentially broader impacts on the scholarly HPE field. As guidance on AI use continues to evolve, authors, reviewers and editors must ensure that they actively maintain and optimise their policies and practices in response to emerging evidence, including of unintended consequences.
Date Issued
2026-08-21
Date Acceptance
2026-07-27
Citation
Medical Teacher, 2026, pp.1-6
ISSN
0142-159X
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Start Page
1
End Page
6
Journal / Book Title
Medical Teacher
Copyright Statement
2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
License URL
Identifier
10.1080/0142159X.2026.2712427
Subjects
Artificial intelligence
health professions
education
academic publishing
Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2026-08-21