Translating Public and Population Health Research into Policy and Actions: The International Journal of Translational Medical Research and Public Health (IJTMRPH)

After nearly one year of planning and infrastructure acquisition, we are happy to publish the first issue of the International Journal of Translational Medical Research and Public Health (IJTMRPH). IJTMRPH is a hybrid open-access, online only global health journal with a unique mission to provide a forum for the dissemination of scholarly work that translates the implications of medical, public and population health research into policy and practical actions that improve the health and well-being of populations.

IJTMRPH fills a gap that has not, in our opinions, received distinct attention in the field of public and population health—that is, the translation of research into actions that alleviate suffering and save lives. Almost a decade and a half ago, then US National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director, Dr. Elias Zherhouni, published the NIH Road Map, which highlighted the overarching importance of translational research among other priorities.¹ The NIH Roadmap spurred basic and biomedical scientists into action leading to wide interest and the establishment of a few scholarly journals in translational science. Unfortunately, the Road Map did not spur enough buzz in the fields of public and population health where the framing of the need for translation remains a challenge with little consensus.² To our knowledge, there are no journals dedicated to the dissemination of population-based medical research, or public and population health research that translates into policy and action.

IJTMRPH will be among the first to challenge medical and public health researchers and epidemiologists to take the next step of identifying how their research results could be translated into policy and action. We do not take this charge lightly, and neither should our readers. Journal editors and reviewers will challenge authors to consciously identify the actual or potential translation implications of their research findings into practice. The compelling impetus behind this journal, and our framework definition of translational medical and public/population health research, is the overdue need for researchers to square the research circle by contributing to disease reduction, poverty alleviation, improvement in health and human development, and promotion of health and social equity and civil society. This is more important for the billions of people living in the low- and middle-income countries of the world for whom translational medical, public and population health research holds a lot of future.

If we are going to attain optimal health development and address the myriads of problems facing the world population, then public and population-based researchers must play an integral role in these efforts. At the dawn of the 21^st century, there are emerging and prevailing complexities in our society. If we are to transform the world and help society reap the benefits of intellectual knowledge and scientific discoveries, amidst these complexities, then we, as scientists and researchers, must not shy away from delving into the space where the world needs our intervention—translation of our research findings into actionable policy and practice.

Identifying social, public health, health care, and medical interventions is not sufficient in itself. We encourage authors to also discuss settings and contexts where these policy actions have been implemented, leading to significant health and social change. Despite marked improvements in life expectancy and mortality reduction during the past several decades, health and social inequalities within and between countries remain large and may be widening. Inequities in reproductive, maternal, and child health, infectious and non-communicable diseases, mental health, injuries and violence, and in chronic disease risks such as smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and air pollution remain major threats to public health globally.³ Special attention is required on the part of researchers and policy makers alike from both the developing and developed world to identify policies and programs that have the potential or have succeeded in reducing health inequities.

IJTMRPH's editorial philosophy will be centered on our authors, readers, and the program and policy communities. We are looking for innovative researchers with rigorous research. In addition to the foundation of rigorous applied research, we anticipate that authors will attempt to identify the implications of their scientific work well beyond the pages of scholarly journals or within the confines of classrooms and ivory towers. The journal looks for researchers willing to push the boundaries of rigorous and evidence-based research by identifying real-world applications of their research findings. By doing this, we hope that these researchers will contribute in making the world a better place by pointing us directly to the place where their words will potentially become public health program and policy actions. The journal is looking for researchers who are committed to translating the implications of their evidence-informed research by publishing the hands-on application of their work. If this sounds like you, IJTMRPH will work hard to earn your trust to be your journal of choice for publishing translational public health research. We welcome you to this unique platform for the dissemination of rigorous applied medical and public health research.

IJTMRPH is a product of consultations with researchers in developed and developing countries. It is a product of ideas from those implementing public health at the grassroots. It is a product of a series of feedback from authors and consultants from around the world yearning for a scholarly forum to take their work to that enviable next step, quickly and widely. A testament of this wide consultation is the convening of an editorial board comprising of seasoned experts in the science and policy of public health, from the global North and South, who are willing and ready to guide this work.

The new journal will draw from the strengths and lessons learned from its sister-journal, the International Journal of MCH and AIDS (IJMA).⁴ Both journals will share their editorial leadership, share reviewers, and share platforms for wide dissemination to ensure that published papers receive the same excellent traditional and non-traditional dissemination pathways that IJMA has come to be known and respected in the field. IJMA and IJTMRPH have established a manuscript transfer agreement. With the author's consent, manuscripts fitting better into the other journal's scope will be transferred to that journal alongside prior reviews and comments thus reducing review time and publication cycle. Papers published in IJTMRPH will be rapidly disseminated through traditional, as well as social and emerging, media outlets where the people who need these findings most in their day-to-day lives are.

Like its sister journal, IJTMRPH will prioritize the dissemination of research from developing countries. This is in line with our continued recognition of the sad reality that while rampant disease in poor countries impedes development and contributes to growing North-South disparities, underreporting on health research priorities for developing countries has been the bane of leading international medical journals.⁵ We acknowledge that we might not know all the answers. However, we hope that this journal will be part of the solution by rapidly publishing work that are products of collaboration between researchers in the developed and developing world.

We know that our goals might be perceived as lofty, scientific advocacy, or empiricists on adrenalin, all of which we are humbly happy to be. That is the real intent of this work. On behalf of our accomplished global interdisciplinary editorial board, we welcome you to IJTMRPH. We invite you to get ready to transform the world and take it to the next step. We look forward to receiving and reviewing your submissions in an expeditious manner and making this journal break new ground in closing the decades-old gap between research and public and population health policy and practice. We are certain that with you on our side as an ardent reader and together with our prolific authors, yes, we surely can do it!

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