Public Health Reports in 2021: Impact Factor Increase and New Article Collections on Racism and COVID-19

COVID-19 Response of the Journal Public Health Reports (PHR), March 2020-March 2023

OBJECTIVE

Publication science is the scholarly study of various aspects of the academic publishing process. Its applications to COVID-19 literature have been limited. Here, we describe COVID-19 submissions to, and resulting articles published by, the journal Public Health Reports (PHR), an important resource for US public health practice.

METHODS

We reviewed PHR's COVID-19 submissions and articles published between March 27, 2020, and March 27, 2023. We coded each article for article type, author affiliation, the categories listed in PHR's call for COVID-19 papers, and the public health emergency preparedness and response capabilities from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

RESULTS

During the study period, PHR received 1545 COVID-19 submissions and published 190 of those articles in a collection, COVID-19 Response. The COVID-19 Response collection included 102 research articles, 29 case study/practice articles, and 24 commentaries. The corresponding author of more than half (52.1%; n = 99) of the articles was affiliated with academia. By the categories listed in PHR's call for COVID-19 papers, 51 articles addressed health disparities, 38 addressed public health surveillance, and 34 addressed COVID-19 vaccination. By the CDC public health emergency preparedness and response capabilities, 87 articles addressed public health surveillance and epidemiologic investigation, 38 addressed community preparedness, and 32 addressed community recovery. The percentage of articles focused on policy/law was higher early in the pandemic (2020-2021) than later (2022-2023) (9.5% vs <3.0%). During the latter period, articles largely focused on vaccination (12.8%) and contact tracing (10.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

Articles published in PHR's COVID-19 Response collection covered a broad range of topics and were authored by contributors from diverse organizations. Our characterization of the COVID-19 output of a representative US public health practice journal can help academic publishing better address informational needs of public health responders.

Editors in Chief of Public Health Reports, 1878-2022: Men and Women Who Shaped the Discussion of Public Health Practice From 1918 Influenza to COVID-19

OBJECTIVES

Public Health Reports (PHR), the official journal of the Office of the US Surgeon General and US Public Health Service, is the oldest public health journal in the United States. Considering its heritage through the eyes of its past editors in chief (EICs), many of whom have been influential public health figures, can provide a fresh point of view on US public health history, of which the journal has been an integral part. Here, we reconstruct the timeline of past PHR EICs and identify women among them.

METHODS

We reconstructed the PHR EIC timeline by reviewing the journal's previous mastheads and its articles describing leadership transitions. For each EIC, we identified dates in office, concurrent job titles, key contributions, and other important developments.

RESULTS

PHR had 25 EIC transitions in 109 years of its history, during which a single individual in charge of the journal could be identified. Only 5 identifiable EICs were women, who served as EIC for approximately one-quarter of the journal's traceable history (28 of 109 years). PHR's longest-serving EIC was a woman named Marian P. Tebben (1974-1994).

CONCLUSIONS

PHR history revealed frequent EIC transitions and a low representation of women among its EICs. Mapping the timeline of past EICs of a historic public health journal can yield valuable insights into the workings of US public health, especially in the area of building a research evidence base.

Informing COVID-19 Response and Health Equity Agenda: Collection of Public Health Reports Articles on Emerging Viral Epidemics in the United States, 1878-2021

OBJECTIVE

Public Health Reports (PHR) is the oldest public health journal in the United States and has reported on viral epidemics since the 19th century. We describe the creation and analysis of a collection of historic PHR articles on emerging viral epidemics in the United States to inform public health response to COVID-19 and future epidemics.

METHODS

We searched databases from 1878 through 2021 using custom search strings and conducted a manual search for articles published under previously used names for PHR. We evaluated all articles based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and coded the final list for virus/disease, article type, public health emergency preparedness and response capabilities from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and PubMed citation count.

RESULTS

We identified 349 relevant articles including 130 commentaries/reviews/editorials, 79 epidemiologic reports, 75 research articles, and 65 case study/practice articles. The collection focused on influenza (n = 244), COVID-19 (n = 75), dengue (n = 14), and other emerging viruses, such as Zika and Ebola (n = 25). The collection included 48 articles on health disparities/health of various disadvantaged populations, highlighting such disparities as race and ethnicity (n = 22), socioeconomic status (n = 17), and age (n = 15). When we categorized articles by CDC public health emergency preparedness and response capabilities, we found that 207 addressed surveillance and epidemiologic investigation, 36 addressed community preparedness, and 28 addressed medical countermeasure dispensing and administration. The articles addressing surveillance and epidemiologic investigation, nonpharmaceutical interventions, and community preparedness had the most PubMed citations (799, 334, and 308, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

PHR's historic articles on US emerging viral epidemics covered a range of virus/disease types, emergency preparedness and response capabilities, and contribution types and were widely cited in the scholarly literature. This publicly available and continuously updated collection is a valuable resource for pandemic planning and response.