Project Description

Author: Hasan et al.

Summary:

Bangladesh has made huge strides in economic growth and healthcare delivery since its independence 50 years ago, although significant lags exist in all domains of health. One of the key domains of a vibrant health policy is health research. Health research in Bangladesh is getting growing attention among the stakeholders; however, in the case of one of the key indicators—Bangladesh-origin scientific journal—the achievement is quite frustrating, where the presence of internationally indexed journals is next to zero. The Journal of Statistical Research, commenced in 1970, published by the then University of Dacca, is the first contemporary Bangladesh-origin journal [1]. Immediately after independence, in 1972, Bangladesh Medical Journal—the first medical journal of the country—commenced publication which is continued to date [1]. As of 2022, the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BM&DC) recognizes 156 journals published by different medical colleges, universities, and professional societies of Bangladesh [2]; 145 of them are listed on Bangladesh Journals Online (BanglaJOL), a virtual platform that maintains online publication of Bangladeshi journals, which has archived 22,509 articles since 2007 [3]. However, there is a decline in the number of new journals listed in databases, with an additional decline in the overall listing rate as well. Currently, 21 Bangladeshi medical journals are indexed in the Web of Science [4], 15 in the Scopus database [5], and only one in MEDLINE [1]. Twenty-six Bangladesh-origin journals had initially been listed in PubMed/MEDLINE; however, only Mymensingh Medical Journal has retained its indexed status [1]. Furthermore, there are no Q1/Q2 journals according to the Scopus journal ranking (SJR).

Full-text link: https://ejim.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s43162-023-00190-8

Keywords: Health research, Bangladesh, Policy reform, Scientific journals, International indexing, Scientific progress