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| FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK |
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| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 23
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1 |
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A Farewell Note and Gratitude
Rajesh Sagar
Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| Date of Web Publication | 2-Nov-2018 |
Correspondence Address:
Rajesh Sagar
Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi . 110 029, India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0971-8990.244925
How to cite this article:
Sagar R. A Farewell Note and Gratitude. J Mental Health Hum Behav 2018;23:1 |
Dear Readers,
It was an honor to be entrusted to serve as Honorary Editor for Journal of Mental Health and Human Behaviour (JMHHB) for a period of 4 consecutive terms (2010–2012, 2012–2014, 2014–2016, and 2016–2018). It has been a pleasure to continue with the traditions and to build on the foundations laid down by the prior editors of the journal.
The mission of the journal is to serve as a repository of evidence-based research in mental health, especially from the north zone of the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS). In the context of a changing and more connected world, it was felt that it is important to establish a dialog with researchers from other parts of India and abroad. The journal, as a conscious policy in recent years, has become more representative of research from other parts of India and abroad, while retaining its primary focus on the north zone. In a way, with its roots firmly grounded in the north zone, it has attempted to expand and reach out to other parts of the country and beyond.
Dr. Raman Deep as associate editor for last eight years and Dr. Siddharth Sarkar as assistant editor for last three years have contributed immensely to various aspects of journal issue preparation and strengthened the academic content. Another important aspect which I wish to bring out is that the editorial team felt a sense of great responsibility toward students and early career publishers. Wherever a paper of sound methodology needed 'hand-holding', to improve quality, the editorial team made a lot of efforts to through rounds of constructive comments, inputs, and copyediting. This nurturance of early career talent from the north zone states was taken as a de facto responsibility by the editorial team.
Beginning with effect from 2014, after approval of IPS north zone, the JMHHB decided to switch over to Medknow Publishers. This step could achieve the anticipated goals of online submissions, website management system, with more convenience and connect with readers, with periodic updates sent to authors and reviewers, and new issue alerts sent to all registered readers.
The journal has come a long way in recent years with steadily increasing numbers of submissions. From having barely sufficient quality papers to publish in each issue, there was a discernable increase in quantity and quality of submissions. Consequently, the acceptance rate for the year 2017 was down to 25% and 18% for the year 2018 so far. As of today, the JMHHB has nearly 300 registered authors, with over 30,000 views and over a 1000 downloads for its most popular articles. The translation of these numbers to an increased number of citations is the next step which needs to be seen in the future.
The journal got indexed in the directory of open access journals, among others, which has made papers much more visible and accessible. The journal name has been restored in the list of UGC approved journals. The systematic pursuance of indexing in PubMed/Medline is another one of the major tasks in the coming future.
The Editorial Board and Editorial committee members were readily available to share their wisdom whenever approached. I would like to express tremendous gratitude to all the reviewers associated with JMHHB, who devoted considerable time and effort. The average days for which a paper is under peer review has now come down to <3 months.
However, being the editor does present its challenges, of which revenue generation to cover costs has been an issue. Perhaps, an online mode of publication might be a way forward after consultation with readers, limiting the numbers of printed copies. Nevertheless, the position has brought great satisfaction for being part of growth and progress of IPS north zone journal over these years.
I welcome Dr. Sandeep Grover as the new honorary editor of JMHHB. I bid adieu from you all knowing that JMHHB shall continue to progress leaps and bounds in the future.
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