Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) has launched an online medical journal, titled Health Sciences. A brain-child of KUHS Vice-Chancellor Mohandas, the journal is brought out by a team under the guidance of eminent cardiologist C C Kartha, attached to the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), here. The open access journal, that would bring the different streams of medicine to one platform, can be accessed by anyone, free of cost. “Most journals world-wide are making their content freely accessible and we are following suit,” said C C Kartha, editor-in-chief of Health Sciences. The focus of the journal is holistic health, and the goal is to offer an effective forum for communication among practitioners of various systems of medicine such as ayurveda, allopathy, homoeopathy, siddha, unani and also among basic scientists, technologists and social scientists. This is also expected to bring in different ways of dealing with a single health problem to one platform. While the journal is basically meant for health-care professionals, the authors need not always be so. “What we are particular about is that the articles should have some academic and intellectual content. If it is a debate on public health policy, we definitely do not want a political debate, but a scientific discussion on the pros and cons,” he added. The journal editor is also particular that even opinions should be studied ones, with enough substance in them. The articles submitted goes to an editorial board, which decides if the content is worthy of publication. Once online, the articles are available in both html and pdf formats. The articles in pdf format, if printed would read like any other magazine. “We are also thinking of giving visibility to the health problems in Kerala as well as the health institutions in the state,” he said. The current issue has articles on homoeopathic approach to viral infection, articles on cerebral rabies and cerebral malaria, ayurvedic perspective on infectious diseases, and a biography of cancer among others. “We hope to get this medical journal indexed in the Pubmed in a couple of years, which would bring in more articles. Every journal has such a beginning and we are pretty optimistic about the venture,” he added. In general, the journal has a section on original research articles and a special section on an important health problem with 5 to 10 articles addressing the diverse aspects of the problem. Each issue would have an article concerning either health policy, a debate on a current issue, selected abstracts of articles selected from different journals, book review and correspondence.
Source : IBN Live
