Volume 4 Issue 2 (August 2005)
Harold Harvey and Paul Fleming
With the publication of this issue the Journal reaches its 3rd anniversary. We are pleased to report that many of the original objectives have been met. A key objective was to provide an accessible publication outlet for researchers and practitioners in the field of environmental health. The lifeblood of any journal is the submission of papers and this is the criterion we have used to judge the success of JEHR in that key objective. In the past twelve months we have received a fairly continuous flow of papers, and over the three years of the Journal’s existence papers have been submitted from authors based in UK, USA, Australia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Canada, Romania, Palestine and Yugoslavia. On a quick calculation we find that about 77% of the papers are submitted by academics, sometimes in association with practitioners, and 23% submitted by practitioners. This is a healthy record and a good balance. In the region of 60% of manuscripts submitted are successful in the peer review process.
On the issue of peer review, we are seeking additional academics and practitioners to supplement the peer reviewers panel.
Does the Journal contribute to the environmental health evidence-base, another of the original objectives? How can we judge this? Perhaps you are the best judge. In addition to the quality and relevance of the papers, the availability of the Journal is important. Presently the Journal is published in three formats: Full Printed, Abstracts Only Printed and Electronic with a circulation in the region of 10,000. This is a good start. Very rapidly, readers of academic journals have adapted their access methods from paper-based to electronic. Our continuing aspiration for JEHR is to achieve listings on a range of electronic databases. This would increase access and citations. See the letters page for a communication on this subject.
To increase awareness of the importance of environmental health research was another key objective, and to encourage participation. Interim reports on eight research projects supported by the CIEH are published in this issue of the Journal. Encouraging.