The Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ) is pleased to inform readers that, as published in the 2016 Journal Citation Reports (JCR) released on 13 June 2016, the Journal has an impact factor of 0.663. This is the EMHJ’s first impact factor as indicated in the JCR new journal’s list.
The impact factor is a measure of the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal and is used to compare different journals within a certain field. It is often used as a measure of a journal’s importance although its validity in this respect has been and continues to be debated for various reasons. Nonetheless, it remains an important metric for journals to have.
This is an important development for the Journal and researchers in the Region, as it will attract better quality submissions and help improve its overall quality and impact. Many regional universities require publication in a journal with an impact factor as a condition for promotion and by submitting to EMHJ, researchers from such institutions can now fulfil this criterion while being confident of the high standards of peer review and editing applied to the papers published.