The challenge of moving towards a culture of scientific publication

Abstract

Scientific investigation is present in our day to day even when we are unaware of it. Technology, innovation, globalization and everything that we see, is a result of a process of trial an error; it is also a result of obtaining evidence and to put them into service of humanity, with the objective of improving the quality of life.  

Scientific investigation in health is one of the most important and necessary in the current times in our society. Only with scientific evidence, its publication and dissemination, the decision makers would be able to adopt the needed measures to improve the health and lives of the population. Therefore, to count with a researcher to present a manuscript for publication or to convince an institution to support these kinds of initiatives, is per se, a great challenge to surmount in our country.

 In Revista Alerta, there is an opening to outreach and promote this scientific culture. This is why in the National Institute for Health we found ourselves in a process of update and renewal in order for the Journal to comply with the international standards and to index it into the more important search mechanisms at global level, to position El Salvador in the best bibliometric indexes of the scientific investigation. Until now, Revista Alerta in indexed in Latindex, REDIB, CiteFactor, Lamjol, and very soon it will be in LILACS. The road has not been easy yet the advances are notable. To obtain and sustain the indexing process is the current challenge.   

Precisely, to comply with the international requirements, the new edition of the journal has undergone some changes in its structure and graphic line. Therefore, the current sections for publishing are: Original Article, Article for Revision, Brief Communications, Case Study and Letters to the Editor. These changes observe the LILACS criteria, which organized the sections according to structure of manuscripts and not for topics.     

Volumen 3, Number 1, year 2020, presents topics related to Latent Tuberculosis Infection in health workers in Latin America; Association of Tuberculosis and Diabetes Mellitus, as well as three Clinical Case Reports in Gyneco-obstetrics, Dermatology and Radiology.

The authors’ interest for publishing their work, every day is more demanding. Scientifics who submit their manuscripts can be sure that the journal applies peer reviews and double blind, using an online system, the Open Journal System (OJS), which guarantees transparency in the editorial process and subscribes to international norms and codes of ethics already established, such as International Committee of Medical Journal Ethics (ICMJE), the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE), and the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS), just to mention a few.

The challenge for a culture of scientific publication is big, but discipline, tenacity and compromise of researchers is yet bigger. In the year 2020 we are going for more, marching for science, innovation and excellence in public health. The scientific community is invited to adhere to these efforts.