EDITORIAL

Carlos E. A. Coimbra Jr.

With volume 8 Cadernos de SaudePublica / Reports in Public Health begins a new phase. The new format of the journal, begining with the current number, consolidates the effort represented by seven years of publication, and demonstrates the modernization of editorial and production methods initiated in 1991. At that time a great deal of research was undertaken to raise Cadernos, both in terms of graphic quality and editorial content, to the level of leading journals of its kind.

Among the changes in editorial format, existing sections of Cadernos were redefined, and a new section, "Theses", was created. In order to conform to the requirements for international indexing all articles now have a title, an abstract, and key words both in English and in the original language of the article. Production methods were streamlined by desktop electronic publishing, and various changes were made in the layout of the journal. These changes will allow us to publish a larger annual number of contributions without changing the quarterly publication schedule of Cadernos.

The past year was particularly important for Cadernos de Saúde Pública, because in 1991 it was included for the first time in fourteen international indexes in the fields of parasite biology, medicine, public health, and the social sciences. In Brazil, where most of the nearly two thousand scientific publications produced in the country are not properly indexed, and only five are listed in Current Contents, the listing of Cadernos by these indexes represents an important step toward its full recognition by the scientific community. This year we are working to consolidate the indexing system of Cadernos, seeking its inclusion in those further international indexes which we consider important to make sure that the material published is as widely read as possible.

Stricter criteria in the selection of manuscripts, the indexing of the journal, and its regular publication, have already shown results in the increased number of manuscripts submitted for publication in 1991. It is encouraging to see authors from various Brazilian states and from other countries, especially Latin American, submitting their work because it indicates that Cadernos has definitely succeeded in breaking out of the regionalism that limits many Brazilian journals. The decision to increase printing from 1500 copies to 2000 is in response to the increase in requests for subscriptions and exchanges.

We should like to stress that Cadernos de Saúde Pública has enjoyed the full support of the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz and, especially, of the Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, without which it would be impossible to produce the journal, since Cadernos receives no financial aid from organizations that support research. However, the greatest encouragement has come from the scientific community, reflected in the increasing number of contributions submitted for publication, as well as in our consultants' willingness and care in reviewing manuscripts. We believe that Cadernos de Saude Publica, in its new format, will be even better able to respond to the expectations of researchers, public health workers, and students for a journal with articles of high quality, regular publication, and wide readership.