Epidemiology and Health Services: journal of the Brazilian National Health System starts celebrating its 30th anniversary

Fatima Sonally Sousa Gondim Lucia Rolim Santana de Freitas Isis Polianna Silva Ferreira de Carvalho Cynthia Braga About the authors

In 2022, Epidemiology and Health Services: Journal of the Brazilian Health Service (Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde: revista do SUS - RESS) achieves 30 years of existence. Created in 1992 as the SUS Epidemiological Report (Informe Epidemiológico do SUS - IESUS), in 2003, following the creation of the Health Surveillance Secretariat within the Ministry of Health (Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde do Ministerio da Saúde - SVS/MS), it acquired its current name and scientific character.11. Garcia LP, Duarte E. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde: história, conquistas e futuro. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2017;26(4):683-4. doi: 10.5123/S1679-49742017000400001
https://doi.org/10.5123/S1679-4974201700...

RESS’ history goes hand in hand with the process of the creation and structuring of the Brazilian National Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS) and the consolidation of health surveillance in Brazil over recent decades (Figure 1). Over this period, the commitment and efforts undertaken by the journal’s editorial board, and the valuable participation of authors and reviewers, have contributed to the RESS progressively improving its editorial practices and becoming an important vehicle for the dissemination of epidemiological knowledge for the improvement of the SUS.11. Garcia LP, Duarte E. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde: história, conquistas e futuro. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2017;26(4):683-4. doi: 10.5123/S1679-49742017000400001
https://doi.org/10.5123/S1679-4974201700...
), (22. Garcia LP, Duarte E. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde: a trajetória da revista do Sistema Único de Saúde do Brasil. Cien Saude Colet. 2015;20(1):2081-90. doi: 10.1590/1413-81232015207.06122015
https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232015207...

A series of initiatives have been decisive for the consolidation and prestige of the RESS in the technical-scientific field. Its becoming part of the SciELO Brasil collection (2014), the Scielo Saúde Pública collection (2015)22. Garcia LP, Duarte E. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde: a trajetória da revista do Sistema Único de Saúde do Brasil. Cien Saude Colet. 2015;20(1):2081-90. doi: 10.1590/1413-81232015207.06122015
https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232015207...
and the new indexations, starting the following year, resulted in a marked increase in its visibility and impact (Figure 1). As a consequence, the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) raised the Qualis Periodical classification in the Collective Health area of the RESS to level B2, which aggregates journals of national and international relevance.

Figure 1
- Timeline of milestones of the Epidemiology and Health Services journal and the Brazilian National Health System (1988-2022)

In 2021, the RESS published four regular issues plus a special issue on sexually transmitted infections,33. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde, 2021. Vol. 30, No.esp1, Fev 2021. in partnership with the Journal of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine (Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - RSBMT), publishing a total of 121 articles, following the trend in the journal’s growth. Other initiatives in 2021 worthy of being highlighted include the provision of article drafting courses - in partnership with the Brazilian Journal of Epidemiology (Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia - RBE) - as well as courses organized by the RESS on reviewing scientific articles.

The solid foundations that have been built allow the celebration of the RESS’ 30th anniversary to take place with an eye to the future. Other important actions were also implemented in 2021, including reformulation and expansion of the body of associate editors and the team of collaborators; affiliation to the Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors (Associação Brasileira de Editores Científicos - ABEC),44. Associação Brasileira de Editores Científicos [Internet]. Botucatu: Associação Brasileira de Editores Científicos; 2022 [citado 2022 fev 01]. Disponível em: Disponível em: https://www.abecbrasil.org.br/novo/
https://www.abecbrasil.org.br/novo/...
a national institution that seeks to qualify Brazilian journals; and the updating of the Editorial Policy and Instructions for Authors.

The new RESS Editorial Policy follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE),55. Angelis C, Drazan JM, Frizelle FA, Haug C, Hoey J, Horton R, et al. Clinical trial registration: a statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. CMAJ. 2004;171(6):606-7. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.1041281
https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.1041281...
for preparing, drafting, editing and publishing academic papers in medical journals, as well as the ethical principles contained in the code of conduct of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE),66. Committee on Publication Ethics. Creating a culture of publication integrity together [Internet]. Eastleigh: Committee on Publication Ethics; 2022[citado 2022 fev 01]. Avaliable from: Avaliable from: https://publicationethics.org/
https://publicationethics.org/...
with the aim of ensuring the scientific integrity of its publications. As part of the Editorial Policy update, RESS recommendations related to the principles of open science have been further detailed - especially regarding the sharing of research data - as have its guidelines regarding declaration of potential conflicts of interest of all those involved in the editorial process. As of 2022, all RESS content falls under a Creative Commons license (CC-BY).

In this sense, the RESS Editorial Development Plan, for the triennium 2022-2024, has as its goals the establishment of new guidelines for open science; reduction of processing, review and editorial production time; strengthening of technical cooperation with other journals; and implementation of strategies for internationalization of the journal. With the achievement of these goals, it is expected that the dissemination of epidemiological knowledge applicable to surveillance, prevention, and control of diseases and conditions of interest to Public Health will be expanded, with a consequent increase in the journal’s impact in the coming years.

In allusion to this special year, the RESS also has a new visual identity to present to the scientific community and SUS health service professionals. Based on the name by which the journal is commonly known, its new logo bears the title “Epidemiology and Health Services: the SUS Journal”. Likewise, the blue color of the journal’s cover reinforces this connection with the SUS. As part of its new visual identity, the bar symbols, which for many years appeared on the journal’s covers, have been transformed into smoother lines. The journal’s website has also been restructured and, in addition to its adaptation to the journal’s new visual identity, new resources and content will be made available, aiming to expand the dissemination of its content.

As such, the SVS/MS, the journal’s supporting institution - along with all those who comprise the RESS -, proudly celebrate its 30 years of history and thank all those who have contributed or contribute to the journal (editors, Editorial Committee, ad hoc reviewers, editorial production, Executive Secretariat and authors). At the same time, it reaffirms its commitment to ensuring the independence of RESS’ editorial process and to guaranteeing the necessary resources for its production and strengthening.

References

  • 1
    Garcia LP, Duarte E. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde: história, conquistas e futuro. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2017;26(4):683-4. doi: 10.5123/S1679-49742017000400001
    » https://doi.org/10.5123/S1679-49742017000400001
  • 2
    Garcia LP, Duarte E. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde: a trajetória da revista do Sistema Único de Saúde do Brasil. Cien Saude Colet. 2015;20(1):2081-90. doi: 10.1590/1413-81232015207.06122015
    » https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232015207.06122015
  • 3
    Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde, 2021. Vol. 30, No.esp1, Fev 2021.
  • 4
    Associação Brasileira de Editores Científicos [Internet]. Botucatu: Associação Brasileira de Editores Científicos; 2022 [citado 2022 fev 01]. Disponível em: Disponível em: https://www.abecbrasil.org.br/novo/
    » https://www.abecbrasil.org.br/novo/
  • 5
    Angelis C, Drazan JM, Frizelle FA, Haug C, Hoey J, Horton R, et al. Clinical trial registration: a statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. CMAJ. 2004;171(6):606-7. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.1041281
    » https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.1041281
  • 6
    Committee on Publication Ethics. Creating a culture of publication integrity together [Internet]. Eastleigh: Committee on Publication Ethics; 2022[citado 2022 fev 01]. Avaliable from: Avaliable from: https://publicationethics.org/
    » https://publicationethics.org/

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    06 May 2022
  • Date of issue
    2022
Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente - Ministério da Saúde do Brasil Brasília - Distrito Federal - Brazil
E-mail: ress.svs@gmail.com