Peer-reviewed public health journals from Arabic-speaking countries: An updated snapshot.
Aboul-Enein, BH;
Bernstein, J;
Bowser, JE;
(2016)
Peer-reviewed public health journals from Arabic-speaking countries: An updated snapshot.
Journal of public health policy, 38 (1).
pp. 146-157.
ISSN 0197-5897
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-016-0049-5
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There is a positive association between availability of regional peer-reviewed public health information systems and progressive change in community and population health. The objective of this brief report was to identify public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries actively publishing as of 2016. We conducted an electronic search in several electronic database records for public health journals using a combination of search terms. We excluded journals that focused on human medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, and other discipline-specific or clinical health professions. We identified twenty-five public health journals for review. Five journals were interrupted or discontinued. Only three journals had a consistent, uninterrupted active publication history of greater than 20 years. Most journals were not in the regional native language. Introduction of regional public health-dedicated journals with in-print and electronic availability and also to be published in region-native languages may require interdisciplinary partnerships. Region-wide public health journals such as the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal could serve as an ideal model for the establishment of additional local and regional public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries.