Qatar Medical Journal (QMJ) and the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care (JEMTAC), which are two journals hosted by Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press’ (HBKU Press) online and open access platform, QScience.com, have been recently indexed with the World Health Organization’s Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR).

“We are extremely proud that these high-performing journals, both of which were sponsored through HBKU Press’ partnership with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), are now indexed with the World Health Organization to showcase the country’s exceptional medical research,” explains Bachar Chebaro, Executive Director of HBKU Press. “This recognition by a global entity is just one of the many ways that HBKU Press supports the dissemination of quality research to stimulate Qatar’s participation in the knowledge economy.”

“This achievement also solidifies QScience.com as a high-impact platform that adheres to universal standards in the academic publishing and the research fields, making it an excellent platform to highlight local research and researchers to the world,” added Dr. Rima J. Isaifan, Head of Academic and Journals Publishing at HBKU Press. 

Research indexing bodies facilitate the dissemination of a researcher’s work on a global scale while guaranteeing certain accreditation and standards. They can improve citation scores and maintain a researcher’s intellectual property rights. 

The World Health Organization’s IMEMR, one of the major projects of the Virtual Health Sciences Library, was initiated in response to a pressing need to index health and biomedical journals in the region. 

The Index Medicus maps and archives health literature produced in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and fills the gap of the near absence of health and biomedical journals published in the region from international indexing and abstracting services.

It also assists authors and researchers with networking and developing communities of practice to gain visibility at the national, regional and international levels; encourages local publishing of health and biomedical sciences literature; and creates an environment that fosters improvements in quality, increases competition, and leads to aspiration for better information products.

Currently, the index includes more than 180,000 bibliographic citations from more than 645 health and biomedical journals published in 20 countries of the region: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, occupied Palestinian territory, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. 

QMJ and JEMTAC make up two of the four journals that are published in Qatar and are indexed by WHO. Both journals showcase the many scientific advances of Qatar and the region.

QMJ publishes original work, reviews articles, and case reports that are particularly relevant to medicine in the broad sense. Its editors-in-chief include Dr. Abdurrazak Gehani of Al-Ahli Hospital, as well as Dr. Mohamad Alkadi and Professor Jassim Al Suwaidi, both working at HMC. 

“Indexing through the World Health Organization’s Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region is an outstanding recognition of the quality of research undertaken and the outcomes generated,” said Dr. Alkadi. “Our partnership with HBKU Press has been integral to the journal’s many successes as one of the top biomedical journals in Qatar.”

JEMTAC is a journal for discussion of all topics related to emergency medicine and subsequent patient care. The journal aims to encourage the dissemination of local and international knowledge in an area that is one of the most challenging fields of medicine. It also encourages the inclusion of trauma and intensive care as the latest sub-specialities in the field of emergency medicine.

JEMTAC’s editors-in-chief are Dr. Hassan Al Thani and Dr. Sandro Rizoli from the Trauma Section at Hamad Medical Corporation.

“JEMTAC is both relevant and necessary. It fills a vacuum in emergency science publications in a major area of the world extending from the Middle East to Southeast Asia and Africa,” explains Dr. Rizoli. “As the journal is now indexed on IMEMR, in addition to being indexed on PubMed Central, Scopus, Scimago, Google Scholar and the Directory of Open Access Journals, we are very confident that it will continue to grow and attract top researchers for submission while increasing its impact factor and knowledge dissemination from the region to the world.”

Other QScience journals, articles and books are also indexed in top recognized indexing bodies such as the Directory of Open Access Journals, Scimago, the Directory of Open Access Books, Google Scholar, and PubMed Central.

QScience.com currently hosts open-access scholarly journals, conference proceedings and eBooks, all available online for free in an effort to disseminate knowledge and understanding of scientific, social, political and health-related subjects while adhering to international publishing standards.