We are delighted to announce the launch of BMJ Public Health, our new, international, open access journal of public health.
Public health is besieged. From funding cuts to prioritisation of hospital services, public health is being denied the resources and the attention to deliver population gains in health and wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us, if we needed reminding, that we ignore public health at our peril. The response is to reinvigorate public health in order to support health protection, reduce inequalities, and ensure health services are most effective. Our ambition is to put the world back on the course of sustained gains in health and wellbeing outcomes.
Academic public health is central to delivering on these aims through sound research, high quality evidence, and applicable knowledge. Indeed, public health is one of the most prolific specialties in terms of research output. From global issues such as the climate emergency, to studies that make key contributions at a local level, BMJ Public Health aims to publish robust research that will drive evidence-based policy and practice.
BMJ Public Health shares many of the core values of other, related journals in BMJ's portfolio, such as BMJ Global Health, the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, and BMJ Open, while carving out its own unique space. The BMJ has published important public health research since 1840. Like BMJ Open, BMJ Public Health aims to complete the research record, putting emphasis on sound methodology and quality of reporting rather than on positive results and unexpected findings, which we know can introduce bias.
As an open access, public health journal, public involvement in research will also be at the front of our minds. Articles we publish will include a statement on patient and public involvement. These are opportunities for authors to explain what (if any) coproduction was involved in the research being reported, how patients and/or the public were involved in the study (other than as participants) and how the results will be disseminated to relevant communities.
Open access also means no access barriers to the public to read the journal. Although there will be article processing charges (APCs) for authors, BMJ's waiver policy is intended to improve equity in open access and provides for APC-free publishing for many authors, including those from low and low-middle income countries.
BMJ Public Health will operate using a combination of professional research editors trained and employed by BMJ and an academic advisory board. Under this structure, BMJ Public Health will be closely aligned to the tradition of editorial excellence associated with The BMJ and its affiliated journals, while maintaining close contact with active researchers and practitioners in the field of public health. Collaboration between researchers and editors will be central, each informing the other, ensuring that content published in BMJ Public Health meets the highest standards in both evidence-based research and publication.
Authors will be able to transfer articles to BMJ Public Health if publication is declined at another BMJ journal for reasons of priority. Articles will be transferred, alongside any peer review or editorial comments received. This will ensure a quick and efficient peer review process and save authors time and effort.
BMJ Public Health considers submissions in all areas of public health, including epidemiology, digital health, occupational health, and community interventions. We also hope that the journal becomes home to previously neglected areas of research, such as gender issues, and healthcare in indigenous populations.
Whether you are an author, researcher or reader, we hope that BMJ Public Health will be an essential resource for you and your community.
