Pathways for the internationalization of public health journals

Abstract

The objective of this text was to explore how public health journals edited in Brazil can increase their international impact. Synthetically, the following measures were proposed: the publication of articles in English; the indexing of journals in the leading international databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, etc.); the inclusion of journals in international online repositories (SciELO, PMC, Europe PMC, etc.); the adoption of editorial a management system allowing the communication in English between authors, editors and reviewers from different countries; the adoption of copyrights allowing free access of the articles, and their distribution in individual and institutional repositories. Several journals in Brazil have already implemented many of these suggestions. These guidelines imply additional costs and editorial commitment. The production of a scientific journal with an international impact should not be the responsibility of editors and authors alone. It is essential that research funding agencies provide sustainable sources to support the internationalization of Brazilian journals with recognized merit.