Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Peer-reviewed public health journals from Arabic-speaking countries: An updated snapshot

  • Viewpoint
  • Published:
Journal of Public Health Policy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There is a positive association between availability of regional peer-reviewed public health information systems and progressive change in community and population health. The objective of this brief report was to identify public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries actively publishing as of 2016. We conducted an electronic search in several electronic database records for public health journals using a combination of search terms. We excluded journals that focused on human medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, and other discipline-specific or clinical health professions. We identified twenty-five public health journals for review. Five journals were interrupted or discontinued. Only three journals had a consistent, uninterrupted active publication history of greater than 20 years. Most journals were not in the regional native language. Introduction of regional public health-dedicated journals with in-print and electronic availability and also to be published in region-native languages may require interdisciplinary partnerships. Region-wide public health journals such as the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal could serve as an ideal model for the establishment of additional local and regional public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Rashad, H. (2014) Health equity in the Arab world: The future we want. The Lancet, 383(9914), 286–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Jabbour, S., Giacaman, R., Khawaja, M., and Nuwayhid, I. (2012) Public Health in the Arab World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Horton, R. (2014) Health in the Arab world: A renewed opportunity. The Lancet, 383(9914), 283–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Abdul Rahim, H. F., et al (2014) Non-communicable diseases in the Arab world. The Lancet, 383(9914), 356–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Alwan, A. (2014) Responding to priority health challenges in the Arab world. The Lancet, 383(9914), 284–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Mokdad, A. H., et al (2014) The state of health in the Arab world, 1990-2010: An analysis of the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. The Lancet, 383(9914), 309–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Salam, A. A., Elsegaey, I., Khraif, R., AlMutairi, A., and Aldosari, A. (2015) Components and public health impact of population growth in the Arab world. Plos One, 10(5), e0124944.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Jabbour, S. (2013) Public health in the Arab World: At a crossroads. Journal of Public Health Policy, 34(2), 356–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office. (2016) Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. Retrieved from, http://www.emro.who.int/emh-journal/eastern-mediterranean-health-journal/home.html.

  10. Rosenblum, M. (1962) Function and importance of a public health journal. Boletín de la Oficina Sanitaria Panamericana, 53, 220–223.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Rajpert-De Meyts, E., and Carrell, D. T. (2013). Scientific journals’ responsibility in shaping public health policy. Andrology, 1(6), 801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Scutchfield, F. D., and Ingram, R. C. (2014). Public health systems and services research: Building the evidence base to improve public health practice. Public Health Reviews, 35(1), 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Zacca-González, G., Chinchilla-Rodríguez, Z., Vargas-Quesada, B., and De Moya-Anegón, F. (2014) Bibliometric analysis of regional Latin America’s scientific output in public health through SCImago Journal & Country Rank. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Blair, I., Grivna, M., and Sharif, A. A. (2014) The “Arab World” is not a useful concept when addressing challenges to public health, public health education, and research in the Middle East. Frontiers in Public Health, 2, 30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Habibzadeh, F. (2006) A snapshot of medical journals from the Middle East. The Lancet, 367(9515), 978.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Tadmouri, G. O. (2004) Biomedical science journals in the Arab world. Saudi Medical Journal, 25(10), 1331–1336.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Siegfried, N., Busgeeth, K., and Certain, E. (2006). Scope and geographical distribution of African medical journals active in 2005. South African Medical Journal, 96(6), 533–537.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Maziak, W. (2011). Boosting biomedical research in the Arab world. Avicenna Journal of Medicine, 1(1), 2–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. El-Azami-El-Idrissi, M., et al (2013) Improving medical research in the Arab world. The Lancet, 382(9910), 2066–2067.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2016) NLM Catalog: Journals referenced in the NCBI Databases. Retrieved from, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals.

  21. World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office. (2016) Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region Journals Directory. Retrieved from, http://applications.emro.who.int/library/imjournals/.

  22. American Public Health Association. (2016) Public health vs. clinical health professions: What’s the difference? Retrieved from, https://www.apha.org/professional-development/public-health-careermart/careers-in-public-health-newsletter/job-searching-salaries-and-more/public-health-vs-clinical-health-professions-whats-the-difference.

  23. Raynor, E. M. (2016) Factors affecting care in non-english-speaking patients and families. Clinical Pediatrics, 55(2), 145–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Sara, K. (2009) Role of WHO Arabic Programme in scaling up the Arabic language. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 15(3), 665–682.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Van Weijen, D. (2012) The language of (future) scientific communication. Research Trends, 31, 7–8.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Internet World Stats. (2016) Usage and population statistics. Retrieved from, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm.

  27. Alenzi, F. Q., et al (2010) Biomedical research in the Middle Eastern countries: update and insight using SCImago Journal Rank indicator. Journal of Ayub Medical College, 22(3), 100–105.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Chetwood, J. D., Ladep, N. G., and Taylor-Robinson, S. D. (2015) Research partnerships between high and low-income countries: Are international partnerships always a good thing? BMC Medical Ethics, 16, 36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Dean, L., Njelesani, J., Smith, H., and Bates, I. (2015) Promoting sustainable research partnerships: a mixed-method evaluation of a United Kingdom-Africa capacity strengthening award scheme. Health Research Policy and Systems, 13, 81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Reviewing the role of the WHO Global Arabic Programme. (2016) Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 22(5): 359.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Global Health & Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, UK

    Basil H. Aboul-Enein

  2. College of Graduate Health Studies, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, 800 W. Jefferson St., Kirksville, MO, 63501, USA

    Joshua Bernstein

  3. College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, 240 Wise Center Dr., Starkville, MS, 39762, USA

    Jacquelyn E. Bowser

Authors
  1. Basil H. Aboul-Enein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joshua Bernstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jacquelyn E. Bowser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Basil H. Aboul-Enein.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Aboul-Enein, B.H., Bernstein, J. & Bowser, J.E. Peer-reviewed public health journals from Arabic-speaking countries: An updated snapshot. J Public Health Pol 38, 146–157 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-016-0049-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-016-0049-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation