About the Journal

Journal of Global Medicine is peer-reviewed, open access, online,  international medical journal. It represents a multidisciplinary medium encompassing health care workers in the medical field to report upon and review progress in clinical and experimental laboratory-based research. While the journal's scope is international, there is a bias in research work that reflects disease patterns in middle to low-income countries. It is published by the Ibadan Medical Specialist Group (IMSG), a United Kingdom-based charity (UK charities no. 1090030) founded in 1994, that supports education and research in sub-Saharan Africa.

AIMS AND SCOPE

The journal aims to make accessible high-quality international medical research to low and middle-income countries free of charge. There is a bias towards quality research as it affects these areas, however, as a global journal, all high-quality research articles will be published. We welcome Original Research Articles (clinical or experimental), Review Articles, Brief Reports, Case Reports, Commentary, Essays, Letters to the editor, audits, opinion pieces, and meeting reports. Submitted manuscripts in the categories of Original Research Articles, Brief Reports, and Case Reports must describe original and unpublished work, that is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

The bar for brief and case reports will be high concerning originality and impact. Letters to the editor will only be accepted if they deal with previously published articles in JoGM. Commentaries (which deal with articles on the same issue) are usually solicited by the Editor-in-Chief. Review articles and opinion pieces should usually be discussed with the Editor-in-Chief before submission. 

EDITORIAL POLICY

Journal of Global Medicine adheres to high standards in its editorial policies on publication ethics and scientific misconduct. The journal follows guidance produced by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Council of Science Editors, and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authors should submit evidence of ethics approval (or a statement that it was not required and why) and that participants gave informed consent. In line with General Medical Council guidelines, an article that contains personal medical information about an identifiable living individual requires patients' explicit consent. Papers will be stored in the CLOCKSS archival systems.

JoGM needs to know about any competing interests authors may have, including any commercial, financial, or non-financial associations that may be relevant to the submitted article. Authors must download and complete a copy of the ICMJE Conflict of Interest disclosure form. In addition, JoGM ensures that all advertising and sponsorship associated with the journal do not influence editorial decisions.

We take seriously all possible misconduct. If an Editor, author, or reader has concerns that a submitted article describes something that might be considered to constitute misconduct in research, publication, or professional behaviour they should forward their concerns to the journal. The publisher will deal with allegations appropriately following ICMJE and COPE guidelines. Corrections and retractions are considered where an article has already been published; corrections, expressions of concern, or retraction notices will be published as soon as possible.

Peer Review

All original research articles, review articles (solicited or unsolicited), short reports, audits, perspective articles, and case reports will be sent for double-blind peer review if they have not been rejected by the editors. The review will be at the editorial board for all other types, editorials, opinions, commentaries, essays, and letters to the editor.

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

Articles are posted online on a continuous basis. Articles destined for specially numbered issues may be delayed until they can all be published simultaneously. 

Accepted Articles

Articles accepted for publication in the Journal of Global Medicine are published online as a PDF in manuscript format within 2 weeks of peer review and formal acceptance. These 'Accepted Articles' may not have been subjected to copyediting, typesetting, or proof correction, although we endeavour to.

This service provides for the earliest possible dissemination of research data following article acceptance. Accepted Articles are given a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which allows them to be cited and tracked. The DOI remains unique to a given article in perpetuity and can continue to be used to cite and access the article further.

As it will not be possible to alter a paper once it is made available online, the submitting author must carefully check the names and affiliations of all authors provided on the cover page of the manuscript. Ultimately, the Accepted Article will be replaced by the final copyedited and proofed article published in the Journal of Global Medicine.

OPEN ACCESS POLICY

Journal of Global Medicine provides open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public is the most effective way to support the growth of knowledge. The journal is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license. Authors retain full copyright. For more information see the copyright section below.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING

Authors contributing to the Journal of Global Medicine agree to publish their articles under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that you indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

Authors retain the copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to the Journal of Global Medicine.

AUTHOR SELF-ARCHIVING

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post papers submitted to the Journal of Global Medicine on personal and institutional websites after publication (while providing the bibliographic details of the latter).

Pre-prints

A preprint is a complete scientific manuscript – often one also being submitted to a peer-reviewed journal – that is uploaded by the authors to a preprint repository or service – for example bioRxiv, PeerJ Preprints, arXiv, SocArXiv or PsyArXiv – without formal review. See here (Medical Research Council) and here.

If a preprint is being submitted to the JoGM, the lead author

1. should inform the editorial board at the time of submission

2. Confirm that the pre-print has not been peer-reviewed

3. At the end of the discussion section of the submitted paper, and before the references, the authors should write, "This paper has been published as a preprint" and the link to the preprint should be included.

4. If the paper is accepted and published,  it should be indicated on the preprint server on the landing page, and in bold, "This preprint has been published in a peer-reviewed journal", and a full citation of the paper should be given. Also, the DOI should be added to the preprint.

FUNDING

The Journal of Global Medicine is an open-access journal and at the moment is being funded by a United Kingdom-based charity group, the Ibadan Medical Specialist Group, UK (UK charities no. 1090030), advertisements, and donations. These sources of funding have no bearing on editorial policies and peer-review mechanisms.