Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition transfers to BioMed Central
The open access Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition is now being published by BioMed Central. The journal was first published in 1983 and in transferring to the open access publisher it joins the growing number of global health journals within the portfolio.
BioMed Central and the journal's new Editor-in-Chief, Abdullah Baqui, hope to continue the distinguished history of the journal established by the public health research organization International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), which was associated with the journal from 2000 to 2015. The Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition joins BioMed Central with an impact factor of 1.39, and the aim is to increase this.
Abdullah Baqui is a professor of International Health and Director of the International Center for Maternal and Newborn Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He will lead the journal in cooperation with an internationally renowned editorial board.
Prior to his position at Bloomberg School of Public Health, Abdullah Baqui was director of Child Health Program of icddr,b in Bangladesh and worked with the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Bangladeshi NGOs to establish the Projahnmo Research Group in Bangladesh. He has conducted pioneering research related to newborn and child health, infectious diseases, micronutrients, and other nutritional problems that influenced national and global policies and programs.
Abdullah Baqui said: "The poorest developing countries face a triple burden that includes communicable and non-communicable diseases, and illnesses linked to socio-behavioral factors. In addition to the traditional areas of global health, the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition is adapting to address the shift in disease burden faced by those countries. My aim is that as open access, international journal with streamlined peer review, and renewed emphasis on the quality and relevance of the articles, it can serve those communities well."
The journal will continue its history of a strong focus on maternal and child health. But with its revised scope, Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition will also publish articles across the broad areas of health and nutrition, with a special focus on research of relevance to developing countries. Unlike its previous incarnation, the journal will operate with an article-processing charge. BioMed Central actively encourages submissions from authors that previously published from developing countries as their article-processing charges will be covered through an open access waiver fund that covers low and middle-income countries.
Ruth King, Associate Publisher for Health Sciences at BioMed Central, said: "BioMed Central and Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition are a great fit for each other. We are thrilled to continue the fantastic work of the icddr,b by the publishing the journal for the first time under the CC BY license. With our open access waiver fund there should be no barriers to publication for authors from low and middle-income countries. I look forward to seeing Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition develop as part of BioMed Central's global health portfolio."
The journal launches with a number of articles. There is research from Montreal University about nutritional status of HIV-infected patients during the first year of anti-retroviral therapy from two African countries. Also published is a research article from authors at Future Groups and Targeted States High Impact Project that looked reducing the burden of diarrhea in children under 5 in northern Nigeria.
Provided by BioMed Central