Impact factor
Impact factor (IF) is a concept dating back over half a century which uses citations as a measure of the impact of a journal within its particular field (Garfield, Reference Garfield2006). In spite of limitations, IF remains the most widely used metric for journals to establish the average number of citations for articles published in a journal (Sharma et al., Reference Sharma, Sarin, Gupta, Sachdeva and Desai2014). Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine (IJPM) has recently been awarded an IF for the first time. The IF of 5.1 has occurred in the context of efforts by authors, reviewers and a dedicated editorial board who are committed to publishing quality and impactful research in the journal.
The IF awarded to the IJPM was undoubtedly contributed to by high citations in several of the themed issues published in the journal over the last few years. In particular, the COVID-19-themed issues in the IJPM (as well as in other journals) have been highly cited, which has likely contributed to relatively higher IFs in the short term. Hence, it is possible that the impact factor of IJPM will decrease in the coming years as the influence of these COVID-19-related publications becomes less prominent.
The IJPM has also published well-cited themed issues in several other areas over the last few years including autism spectrum disorders, public mental health, psychiatric anthropology and physical health in mental illness. The journal has been very fortunate to have prominent guest editors involved in these issues which has helped to attract high-quality and influential articles. It is anticipated that the journal will continue to publish themed issues allowing experts in particular areas to solicit articles and contribute to the reviewing and editing of issues on cutting edge themes.
In the development of the journal, our publishing company, Cambridge University Press, has provided expert guidance since our collaboration with them began in 2013. We also have a dedicated editorial administrative team based in the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland who have allowed for the delivery of innovations and developments in the journal.
Future directions for the journal
As we look into the future, it is important to consider directions for the journal, and how we might continue efforts to contribute new knowledge which can benefit mental health services in Ireland and internationally. The journal is committed to quality and rigorous peer review with high ethical standards, essential for ensuring academic quality in all journals. By ensuring high standards in peer review, readers can be more confident about the findings reported in the journal. We are committed to developing the editorial board, taking account of equality, diversity and inclusion principles. The journal also strives to be author and reader friendly, achieving timely peer review and publication to ensure that research is rapidly available to clinicians, researchers and policymakers. We aim to increase visibility of our publications by encouraging authors to disseminate their work, delivering press releases when appropriate, and through further dissemination on social media platforms.
As the official research journal of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, the IJPM plays a key role in Irish psychiatric training and research, although articles in the journal also embrace a multidisciplinary approach. The IJPM has often been viewed as a publishing destination for early career research among Irish psychiatric trainees and among academics in other mental health disciplines. The journal will continue to fulfil this role, while also aiming to attract high-level research from both Irish and international researchers.
While the IJPM is based on Ireland, it does not have an exclusive focus on Ireland. The editorial board has an international base which has substantially helped in the development of the journal. Furthermore in order to deliver best care one must look towards international best practice, acknowledging that we work in an international environment where the delivery of successful new initiatives can be rapidly shared. With this in mind, the IJPM will always have an international focus; however as a journal based in Ireland, with a large Irish readership, the journal certainly welcomes articles which can have significant influence on Irish mental health services, and we will continue to support Irish based research and innovation.
As ever, the IJPM advocates for delivering high-quality clinical care and improving mental health services. We are committed to keeping the field of mental health vibrant and relevant by publishing research on novel and important topics. Such topics include research on biological, psychological and social determinants of mental illness with the aim of delivering better care including novel medications, psychosocial interventions and service innovations. We recently published a themed issue on public mental health, which remains an interest for the journal, along with other aspects of prevention and early intervention such as infant mental health. There are many areas where mental health services need to improve – physical health in mental illness, transdiagnostic early intervention, dual diagnosis, multidisciplinary evidence-based care for minority and disadvantaged communities, to name a few. Improving our knowledge of mental healthcare delivery in populations such as youth and student mental health, indigenous and Traveller populations and in perinatal mental health is also important. The journal will continue to advocate for publishing on these and other themes by soliciting articles in key areas and publishing themed issues where possible.
This is an exciting time to be involved in mental health research and IJPM is looking forward to new discoveries in the decades ahead.
Acknowledgements
There are many who have contributed to IJPM over the years and who have helped the journal in its development to this point. The founding editor Dr Mark Hartman† made huge efforts in establishing the journal; former editors-in-chief, including Prof. Brian Lawlor and Prof. Brendan Kelly, deserve special thanks. Thanks to former deputy editor Dr Niall Crumlish. More recently other senior members of the editorial board include Dr Larkin Feeney, Prof. Mary Cannon, Dr Eric Roche, Prof. Brian O’Donoghue, Prof. Louise Gallagher, Dr Martha Finnegan, Dr Erik Kolshus, Prof. Katherine Johnson, Prof. Gautam Gulati and Dr Dimitrios Adamis. Special thanks to previous and recent guest editors including Prof. Fiona McNicholas, Dr Blanaid Gavin, Prof. David Cotter, Dr David Mongan, Dr Emmet Power, Prof. Joe Barry, Prof. Jane McGrath, Dr Lauren Alexander, Dr BethAnn Roch, Dr Michele Hill, Dr Richard Duffy, Dr Donal O’Keefe and Prof. Colm McDonald. Thanks to Prof. Ian Kelleher who initiated the social media editor role in the journal. Thanks to our current trainee editors Dr Mohamed Alsaffar and Dr Anna Feeney and to all our former trainee editors. Thanks to staff at Cambridge University Press, especially Ned Wilson Eames and Adam Cran. Thanks to all in the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland who have supported the journal including Andrea Ryder, Miriam Silke, and recent presidents William Flannery and Lorcan Martin. In particular thanks to Ian Rice for his recent work as editorial assistant. Finally huge thanks also to all editorial board members past and present who have contributed greatly to the journal over the years.
Financial support
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests
JL is Editor-in-Chief for IJPM. AD is Social Media Editor for IJPM. BH is Deputy Editor for IJPM. The authors have no other competing interests.
Ethical standard
The author asserts that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committee on human experimentation with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.
