Nursing and Health Practices

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INVITED EDITORIAL
It is with great pleasure that I write this editorial, on the eve of becoming Editor in Chief of Science of Nursing and Health Practices / Science infirmière et pratiques de santé. I am excited by the mission's scope, but it presents a great responsibility: the challenge of continuing to advance the journal in leaps and bounds, just as the editors before me, José Côté and Sylvie Cossette, did so brilliantly.
I had the opportunity of supporting the creation of the journal by being, at the time, co-lead of the international platform of the Quebec Network on Nursing Intervention Research (Réseau de recherche en interventions en sciences infirmières du Québec or RRISIQ), whose objectives included working on the proposal of a scholarly journal. Thus, I have witnessed and even participated in several steps undertaken to establish a journal of recognized scientific quality, a springboard for disseminating scientific output in support of an effective and efficient health ecosystem that is equitable and accessible to all. The rigorous work achieved by my colleagues was the key to accomplishing this objective, as documented in previous editorials.
I take the baton as Editor in Chief with the understanding that the journal must continue to move forward in its Page 11 consolidation and sustainability, which is our commitment to the society. To do this, our next step is to expand the indexing of its publication in databases relevant to its field. Indexing is an important criterion that authors consider when choosing a journal in which to publish, because it is a token of the journal's rigour and quality; to be indexed, journals must undergo a strict verification process and demonstrate they meet several quality criteria. The process of indexing also ensures that the article is more visible to its target audience. Thus, the journal must be included in many scientific databases and search engines to build a solid reputation in its field of application (Rajagopalan, 2015). The journal already integrates several bibliographical indexes, such as AureHal, BASE, CISMeF, CORE, DOAJ, ERIH PLUS, Isidore, LiSSa, MIAR, Mir@bel, NLM, OpenAIRE, ScienceGate. However, it should be mentioned that the first database with evaluation criteria in which the journal was indexed was the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). More recently, the journal received the DOAJ Seal, which is "awarded to journals that demonstrate best practices in open access publishing. Around 10% of journals indexed in DOAJ have been awarded the Seal." (The DOAJ Seal, 2022). **************** The next step for consolidating the journal involves indexing it in PubMed Central (PMC), a key aggregator in the health field. Managed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (or NLM, the above-mentioned catalogue in which the journal has been integrated), PubMed covers health-related literature from life sciences journals and online books. It also allows access to MEDLINE, the bibliographic database of references and abstracts (for more information on PubMed/MEDLINE/PMC, see Ossom Williamson and Minter, 2019). Indexing in PubMed means that the healthrelated journal meets strict quality criteriaand this attracts authors and potential readers. Like a loop effect, journals will receive more submissions after being indexed (Huh, 2016).
That being said, our journal is preparing to be indexed in PMC. We have already met many of the scientific and editorial quality criteria that are evaluated for indexing in PMC, such as: a. Objectives and scope-They are respected in the editorial orientations and clearly stated on the home page of the journal's website. b. Peer review process-The double-blind peer review process is explicit and detailed on the website's author information page. c. Content quality of the articles-The editorial team rigorously examines the articles according to recognized scientific quality criteria (e.g., the abstract provides a complete and precise description of the article content, the study objectives are clearly stated and logical, the justification for conducting the study is clear, the research methods described are sufficiently detailed, the discussion is critical and complete, the conclusions are supported by data). d. Authors systematically declare conflicts of interest-This information is clearly stated in the PDF of any article published by the journal. e. The opportunity to provide comments and dissenting opinions-In this sense, the journal accepts "Letters to the Editor" (comments on a recently published article) to foster scientific discussion.
Page 12 f. Production quality-The editorial team works with the authors to ensure the tables and figures are well annotated and easy to understand. g. The journal's target audience is consistent with PubMed's target audience, i.e., health professionals, researchers, practitioners, educators, administrators and students (Journal Selection for PMC, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/pub /journalselect/).
We still have more criteria to meet (e.g., technical criteria, scope of the editorial team), and we are striving to do so. The next step will be to submit the indexing application that will be assessed by external experts and consultants according to the scientific and editorial quality criteria recommended by PMC (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5 18737/; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/about/ guidelines/#expectations). Although this demanding process does not guarantee success on the first try, we are committed to taking the necessary steps. **************** The distinctive and recognizable visual identity, which enhances the website's quality (and the journal's communications), is also a necessary brand for the journal and required for indexing. I am proud to present its logo to you.
The image used for the logo is made up of three distinct lines of colour that represent different health professionals. The colours are distinct, but they harmonize with each other-representing the affinity between the different professions. The overlapping lines in turn symbolize interdisciplinarity, i.e., the interweaving of actions of different health professionals toward a common goal of health promotion or a well-functioning health system. This logo was chosen to quickly create a compelling link between the journal and our target audience. The image and colours that define the logo were carefully thought out to easily convey the journal's aforementioned values without the need for additional text. These colors also echo the image of the journal's cover page, well known to our readership. To facilitate the recognition of the journal, we therefore present the cover image with the logo in the header of the articles of this issue. We hope you'll like the result! Together, the journal, the authors and the readers will be able to advance the dissemination of scientific knowledge needed to build a healthier society. The journal is committed to ensuring all the necessary qualities of a credible, relevant and rigorous scientific publication. Authors, reviewers and readers: we look forward to your contributions!