About the Journal

The social, cultural, and economic impacts resulting from globalization pose health risks due to economic differences between and within countries, fragmentation and weakening of labor markets, environmental changes (degradation of the environment, decreased biodiversity, and dispersion of pollutants), increase in tobacco consumption, increase in obesity, increased consumption of processed food – favoring unhealthy diets – prevalence of depression and mental disorders in the elderly in fragmented urban settings, and worldwide spread of infectious diseases brought on by the growth of international travel.

Globalization affects any space or person on the planet directly or indirectly; this does not mean, however, that its reflexes and consequences affect everyone equally and that its repercussions are the same everywhere.

The field of global health has a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary character, and it draws knowledge from the biological and social sciences and humanities. It involves expertise in one’s field, teaching, practice, and research into supraterritorial health issues and problems going well beyond national geographic borders.

The global health approach can also be used for comparative studies to allow a broader and more universal view of health problems and determinants of health and disease even when battles are waged at local or national levels.

The Brazilian Journal of Global Health is published in continuous flow (are published, Original Article and  Systematic Review, Meta-analyzes and Narratives; manuscripts are preferably accepted in English and abstracts in Portuguese and English) and accept studies pertaining to the areas of health and related fields and which come under the following:

Research on the unequal distribution of diseases and on what is harmful to health, especially research with a high impact on morbidity and mortality using statistical databases from the public domain and in-depth analysis to grasp the etiological and determining factors of pathologies. We propose the following subthemes:

  • Characterization of global standards of health and disease.
  • Comprehension of the cultural, social, political, economic, biological, and environmental factors affecting public health locally and globally.
  • Research assessing the impacts of internal and external conflicts on human health.
  • Research evaluating the impacts of migratory movements on human health.

Research on the impacts of global environmental changes on human health and mitigation and adaptation strategies, primarily those related to chronic degenerative diseases with environmental determinants, such as a few types of cancer connected with the growing chemification of the environment and food, as well as diseases associated with air, soil, and water pollution. We propose the following subthemes:

  • A list of healthy environments and lifestyles to prevent diseases.
  • Studies related to the vulnerability of some populations to natural and technological disasters.
  • Studies involving health (in)security.
  • Studies evaluating the impacts of pollution on health.
  • Studies assessing the onset and transmission of infectious diseases in the world and their emergence and reemergence patterns.
  • Epidemiology and prevention of chronic diseases.
  • Health promotion.

Research on global health policies, institutions and systems, mostly those having an impact on social, political, economic, and health factors; also, investigation into the changes in human rights and the ethical values of justice, equity, solidarity, and social responsibility caused by the globalization scenario. We propose the following subthemes:

  • Studies addressing health systems, governance, and global health policies and institutions.
  • Studies proposing innovations in health programs, methods, and techniques.
  • Studies comparing health policies and management.
  • Studies contemplating the performance of public and private international health institutions.
  • Studies addressing health system reforms and their effects on equity and health.
  • Measurements on a global scale of health inequalities and inequities.                     

SCOPE AND POLICIES

A submission which meets the standards established and presented in the Editorial Policies of the Brazilian Journal of Global Health-BJGH will be forwarded to the Scientific and Associate Editors, who will carry out an initial evaluation to determine whether the manuscript should be reviewed. The criteria for the initial analysis of the Scientific and Associate Editors include originality, pertinence, methodology, and clinical relevance. A manuscript lacking merit or compliance with the editorial policy of the journal will be rejected in the preevaluation phase, regardless of the adequacy and methodological quality of the text. A manuscript can thus be rejected based solely on the area editor’s recommendation, without the need for further revision. In this case, the decision cannot be appealed.

The manuscript approved in the preevaluation phase will be submitted for review by specialists working independently. The reviewers will remain anonymous to the authors and vice-versa. The Associate Editors will coordinate the exchanges between authors and reviewers and forward the preliminary opinions to the Chief Editor who will make the final decision on the publication of the manuscript based on the recommendations of the reviewers and Scientific and Associate Editors. If accepted for publication, the article will be passed on to the editors, who might make minor changes, which will not affect the author's style or the scientific content. If an article is rejected, the authors will receive a letter from the Editor with the justifications. In the end, all documentation pertaining to the review process will be filed for consultation if necessary in the event of ethics-related lawsuits.

Every manuscript submitted to the BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF GLOBAL HEALTH - BJGH will be examined by the editors to make sure it complies with the norms and editorial policies of the journal. If it does not, it will be returned to the authors for adjustments before being submitted to peer review. The Chief Editor, acting on the opinion of the Scientific and Associate Editors, is responsible for forwarding or not the manuscript to specialists who will judge the piece of work based on its quality and originality while preserving the anonymity of the authors and having no conflicts of interest with them to be free to accept or reject the article. The manuscript is then evaluated by two reviewers, specialists in the manuscript’s subject, who have no conflicts of interest with the research or who are not authors or sponsors of the study. They must be reputable scientists whose evaluation is carried out with the assurance of anonymity and confidentiality.

The decisions made by the reviewers should be based on clear and objective comments, which might require authors be asked to make some changes for further evaluation.  In the event that one reviewer rejects the manuscript and the other accepts it for publication, a third referee will be called in. Once accepted by the Editor, the manuscript will undergo text editing. A new request for minor adjustments may occur; however, they will not interfere in the scientific content. Failure to meet the adjustment deadlines will be considered withdrawal, and the article will be removed from the agenda of the BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF GLOBAL HEALTH-BJGH. Approved manuscripts will be published according to the chronological order of acceptance.

RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS

The content of the manuscript and the opinions expressed therein are the sole responsibility of the authors; plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and verbatim or fraudulent data are not condoned; a complete list of references must be present; and sources of funding and collaboration must be mentioned. It should also be noted that submission of the manuscript to the BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF GLOBAL HEALTH-BJGH implies that the entire work or part(s) of it has not been published or is not under analysis for publication in another periodical or media.

Authors must be willing to submit their work for the peer review process and, when necessary, make the corrections and/or provide the justifications as requested within the time frame established by the Editor. In addition, the authors are responsible for the veracity and authenticity of the data presented in the articles. Only the researcher who has made a significant contribution to the research is considered the author of the manuscript. The authors are under the obligation to make the retractions or corrections solicited by the Editor if errors are found in the articles after publication. Ethical conflicts will be addressed following the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors should consult the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org) and of the Committee for Integrity in Scientific Activity of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development - CNPq (www.cnpq.br/web/guest/diretrizes) or of the Committee on Publication Ethics – COPE (www.publicationethics.org).

 Research articles involving human beings must provide, in the Methods section, the participants’ explicit agreement with the ethical research standards and the information received about the research via a free and informed consent statement. To be provided as well is the number of the approval report of the Research Ethics Committee. Studies carried out in Brazil must comply with Resolution 466/2012 of the National Health Council of the Ministry of Health in Brazil on the Code of Ethics for Research in Human Beings and studies conducted outside of Brazil must be in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration.

Studies involving animals must explicitly provide the authors’ agreement with international ethical principles (e.g., Committee for Research and Ethical Issues of the International Association for the Study of Pain, published in PAIN, 16: 109-110, 1983) and national rules (Laws 6638/79, 9605/98, Decree 24665/34) that regulate animal research.  The approval number of the Ethics Committee for Animal Research should be placed on the cover page.

The BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF GLOBAL HEALTH reserves the right not to publish works which do not comply with the legal and ethical standards for research with human beings or animals. In clinical trials, it is mandatory to have the registration number of the clinical trial on the cover page at the time of submission. The BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF GLOBAL HEALTH accepts any registration that is in line with the International Committee of Editors of Medical Journals (e.g., http://clinicaltrials.gov). A complete list of all clinical trials with their registration numbers can be found at http://www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary/en/index.html.

The use of the patients’ initials, names, or the numbers of their medical records should be avoided.  Patients must not be identified by photographs, except through their written consent, which must accompany the original work at the time of submission. Instruments, materials, or substances must be mentioned together with the manufacturer’s name.  The reproduction of previously published images or other third-party authorship elements must be accompanied by the copyright holders’ authorization for reproduction; otherwise, the authorship of the material will be attributed to the authors of the study.

CATEGORIES OF ARTICLES

The BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF GLOBAL HEALTH preferably publishes the following:

B) Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, narrative articles, and narrative reviews will only be received upon invitation by the Editors. The journal also publishes editorials, letters to the editor, and summaries of events as a supplement.

A) Original articles: These include observational, experimental, or quasi-experimental studies, diagnostic tests, and clinical trials.                                               

EDITORIAL PROCESS

1. Evaluation

Preanalysis: the Scientific Editor evaluates the manuscripts based on quality and interest for the global health area and decides whether or not to select the manuscript for review by external peers.

Peer analysis: if selected in preanalysis, the manuscript is forwarded to one of the Associate Editors knowledgeable about the subject matter of the manuscript. The Associate Editor then selects two reviewers whose specialty must also be consonant with the manuscript’s topic. If the Associate Editor finds that the reviewers’ analyses do not provide solid ground for a conclusion, the Editor will appoint at least one more reviewer. Based on the reviewers’ judgements, the Associate Editor may decide to refuse the manuscript (if it has important deficiencies), to accept it, or to suggest a resubmission after changes made in compliance with the reviewers’ requests.

2. Review of scientific writing

Before publication, the approved manuscript is edited by a team composed of the review editor and the editorial board. They will review the writing for clarity, brevity, objectivity and solidity and will check grammar and style. The BJGH reserves the right to make changes in order to ensure perfect communication with readers. The responsible author will have access to all alterations until the last proof is sent.

3. Manuscript proofs for publication

The corresponding author will receive a proof, in text file (doc, docx, or rtf), with the observations and changes made by the editors. The time frame for reviewing the test will be two days. If there are any lingering doubts, the editorial team will contact the corresponding author for a revision to be made. The process will be repeated until a final version of the text is reached.

Approximately 20 days after the author has finished proofing the article, BJGH will send the final version of the article for the author to review. In this review, the author should pay attention to possible errors of interpretation, pertinence of vocabulary, and, mainly, equivalence of content with the original approved version. The time frame for this review will be two days.

The BJGH adopts the system of continuous publication, thereby increasing the speed of the publication process. The journal no longer depends on a certain number of articles to publish an issue. Instead, each individual article can be released online as soon as it is ready. Therefore, we request compliance with the stipulated time frames.