The Journey So Far: Welcoming Our New Editor and Journal Progress Report

INTRODUCTION

When it was founded in 2017, the mission of the International Journal of Translational Medical Research and Public Health (IJTMRPH) was to be a forum for the dissemination of research with the potential for translating into program and practice.^[1] The journal thus filled a gap in the field of public health, medical research, and applied public health practice. For example, existing journals had sections that mimic the traditional depiction of public health – original research, review articles, editorials, and commentaries. From our works and from interviews with other practice-based researchers around the world, we knew that public health practice did not fit into those “fine” academic lines. The journal introduced innovative sections and article types such as From the Field and Field Perspectives. These offer more opportunities for researchers to disseminate what works so that other practitioners can glean and learn from those. We are happy to report that those sections have become very popular among our authors, especially those from developing countries who have been shut out of the mainstream academic journals.

COMMITMENT TO OUR MISSION AND AUTHORS

The journal is growing in prominence, but more work needs to be done now and in the coming years. The journal’s commitment is to publish “papers that can be applied to global and public health practices, programs, and policies, especially those that contribute to local and international efforts to improve the health of populations and save lives. The publication of papers that program planners can readily adapt for program and policy development remains unshaken.”^[2-5]

NAVIGATING THE OPEN-ACCESS PUBLISHING ENVIRONMENT

It must be said that breaking new ground as a new open-access journal has not been easy. In a field with vagaries of contest for space, it is harder to separate the chaff from the grain. Well-resourced journals are fiercely squeezing out small scholarly published journals such as IJTMRPH. The global economic downturn exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic has made payment of publication charges – the only source of sustenance for scholar-led journals – more difficult. Attracting eminent researchers to join journal boards has become even more herculean as academicians, wary of a diluted field of scholarly publishing, are uncertain about which boards to join to avoid tainting their academic reputation. Moreover, changing global sociopolitical environments instigating dwindling resources, mean that scholars are asked to do more with less, squeezing out even the little time that scholars may have to support the publishing community.

WELCOMING GREGORY PAPPAS, MD, PHD, NEW SPECIAL COLLECTION

It is against this background that we are excited to welcome Gregory Pappas, MD, PhD, as the Editor of IJTMRPH and the guest editor of the special collection on “Building the Real-World Evidence Infrastructure to Accelerate Innovation and Achieve Better Outcomes in Health Care.” Drawing on his vast experience, we anticipate that he will identify gaps in scholarship to address current, emerging, or neglected topics in global public health using his visionary lens that has driven innovation in the past several years. In this role, Dr. Pappas will offer strategic insight and direction to the operation of the journal. He will lead the selection of papers for publication, engage with diverse partners, commission special issues, and publish perspective articles.

This issue focuses on the rapidly evolving landscape of real-world evidence infrastructure in the United States. Dr. Pappas has brought together a distinguished group of contributors whose work demonstrates how the growing use of real-world data is reshaping the practice of medicine, product innovation, the development of health policy, regulatory science, and the design of public health interventions.

Dr. Pappas’s arrival marks an important milestone for the journal. A leading figure in global public health, his experience spans academia, government, industry, and development sectors, with a portfolio that includes work in more than 30 countries. His interdisciplinary approach – rooted in social science and grounded in practical implementation – offers exactly the kind of leadership we need as the field of translational research enters a new phase, characterized by digital transformation, data integration, and growing demands for equity and accountability.

We are grateful to all our editors for their support and editorial leadership. Our gratitude goes to our publishing partner, Scientific Scholar, who has taken the journal to new heights since our partnership started. Our readership numbers have gone through the roof. We would like to thank all the authors who have published in the journal for entrusting us with their important research. We are looking forward to more healthy days for the journal. We invite all authors to join us as we grow this innovative journal and lead the translation of public health research into practice across the world, without distinction between the developed and developing world.