Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

  M. Rezaeian [1]

  Received: 11/12/2010 Sent for Revision: 04/01/2011 Received Revised Manuscript: 08/03/2011 Accepted: 18/03/2011

  Background and Objectives : Local journals also known as "small journals" are those published for fulfilling the scientific needs of certain communities. The present article is dealt with the problems of these journals and provides some suggestions on how to overcome their pitfalls.

  Materials and Methods : The Pubmed search engine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) was explored using the following keywords of the titles of articles “small journals”, “local journals”, “small scientific journals” or “small medical journals”. This search strategy retrieved 8 papers. In the next step, and by searching the reference lists of the retrieved papers, the most relevant and up-to-date articles were selected for this review study.

  Results and Discussion : Evidences suggested that the "small or local journals" have a number of pitfalls including being published usually in local languages which are not familiar to most people, dealing with general issues rather than specific fields , having low circulations, and confronting enormous difficulties in punctual publications. Nevertheless, by removing the above-mentioned obstacles, these journals can still play an important role either in knowledge dissemination and sharing experiences or improving the health levels in local communities.

  Conclusion: Small journals could possibly be able to overcome their problems utilising the following strategies.

  displaying a firm commitment to their responsibilities , precise planning, creating networks with other local or mainstream journals and seeking support from local, national and international scientists.

  Keywords : Local journals, Small journals, Health domain, Problems

  Funding : This study did not have any sources of funding.

  Conflict of interest : The author is the editor-in-chief of the scientific Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences.

  How to cite this article : Rezaeian M . The Problems of Local Journals in Health Domain and how to Overcome Them. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2011 10(3): 215-24. [Farsi]

  [1] - Associate Prof., Dept. of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Occupational Environmental Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran

  Corresponding Author, Tel: (0391) 5234003, Fax: (0391) 5225209, E-mail: moeygmr2@yahoo.co.uk