Ciência & Saúde Coletiva has completed yet another year of work and now launches volume 29 - to be released during the year 2024 - eager to continue its mission and willing to serve the SUS, society in general and the academic health community.

Before talking about the future, an overview of the past year is appropriate. There were 12 issues in 2023, each with 25 articles, almost the entirety of which were based on research. The first issue of the year, 28.1, analyzed how “Prejudice and discrimination reinforce exclusion in health”; 28.2 presented “Sociodemographic analyses of the health of Brazilians”; 28.3 dealt with “Long COVID and its consequences”, which has affected many people, notably the poor, as well as impacting the structure of health services; 28.4 looked at “Health care and illness in childhood”, highlighting the extreme importance of care in the first years of life; 28.5 focused on an “Analysis of health surveillance models and strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic” in Brazil and around the world, revealing differences and inequalities¹1 Machado AV, Ferreira WE, Vitória MAÁ, Magalhães Júnior HM, Jardim LL, Menezes MAC, Santos POR, Vargas FL, Pereira EJ. COVID-19 e os sistemas de saúde do Brasil e do mundo: repercussões das condições de trabalho e de saúde dos profissionais de saúde. Cien Saude Colet 2023; 28(10):2965-2978.; 28.6 took an in-depth look at “The violence that impacts upon the day-to-day life and health of the Brazilian population”; 28.7 dealt with “Eating well: investing in health”, stressing that a high proportion of illnesses are associated with inadequate nutrition; 28.8 highlighted the advances in “Health Promotion and Care Options: contributions of the Family Health Training Network in the Brazilian Northeast”; 28.9 dealt with “Racism, subjectivity and care”, highlighting care that takes human rights into account; 28.10 analyzed “Working conditions and the mental health of health workers in the context of COVID-19 in Brazil and other countries”. This was a particularly important issue because it acknowledged and paid tribute to the visible and invisible workers who were in the front line in tackling the pandemic, and are still suffering the consequences of their “quasi” heroic status²2 Machado MH, Coelho MCR, Pereira EJ, Telles AO, Soares Neto JJ, Ximenes Neto FRG, Guimarães-Teixeira E, Bembele JN, Silva LG, Vargas FL. Condições de trabalho e biossegurança dos profissionais de saúde e trabalhadores invisíveis da saúde no contexto da COVID-19 no Brasil. Cien Saude Colet 2023; 28(10):2809-2822.; issue 28.11 posed the question: “Until when will elderly people be scorned in Brazil?” revealing to readers the immense demographic challenges and the relative inertia of the state and society in reacting to them. Issue 28.12 focused on the evaluation of “Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic”. There were also some highlights, including an article summarizing a national survey on the “situation of abortion in the country”³3 Diniz D, Medeiros M, Souza PHGF, Goés E. Aborto e raça no Brasil, Pesquisa Nacional de Aborto 2016 a 2021. Cien Saude Colet 2023; 28(11):3085-3092., and another addressing the “The medical-industrial complex and national challenges”⁴4 Guimarães R. Sobre a Soberania Sanitária no Complexo Industrial da Saúde. Cien Saude Colet 2023; 28(11):3093-3100.. Both of the articles were of immense interest and social commitment.

This entire collection was submitted by 1,317 authors, 87 being from other countries, that in terms of the number of titles published include Portugal, Peru, Mexico, United States, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, France and Mozambique. Of the total of texts, 78.28% were written or translated into English and some are in Spanish. The total number of originals received was in excess of 2,000.

From a bibliometric standpoint, Ciência & Saúde Coletiva currently has an impact factor of 1.7 in the JCR; in Google Scholar, it has an h5m5-index of 72/97, ranked in first place among the 100 most important Brazilian journals. It also has an A1 rating from CAPES. Its communication website is online, informing readers and contributors on a daily basis about relevant topics and events, maintaining the memory of 28 years of published articles, and the ahead of print page where all originals can be viewed immediately after approval.

The challenges ahead are manifold. Some issues relate to the choice of topics to be explored in depth to enhance the SUS; to science that is increasingly open to society and to diversity; to international dialogue; to the valorization of collaborators; and to the transparency of procedures.

Bidding farewell to 2023 and welcoming in the year 2024, the editors-in-chief are immensely grateful to the executive team, associate editors and reviewers who carry the Journal on their shoulders and in their hearts and, above all, to the collaborators who honor it, value it and are proud of it!

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