“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”. – Albert Einstein
As the year 2023 ends amidst escalating global conflict and tension, it can be challenging to see reasons for hope beside the disturbing images and headlines that inform and impact our daily lives. Taking a reflective pause to recall what has gone well, remember what we have already accomplished, and look forward to what we are now planning together can be both essential and encouraging.
In this context, the planned return of face-to- face pan-arctic gatherings is wonderful news for the circumpolar health community that gives this journal both life and purpose. Be sure to thank the organisers and mark your calendars for the upcoming Arctic Congress that combines University of the Arctic (U Arctic Congress and Assembly), the International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS XI) and High North Dialogue into a single collaborative meeting to be held in Bodo, Norway May 29-3 June 2024. Plan also to attend the next International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH XVIII) to be hosted in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada June 18-20, 2024. Call for abstracts and more information will soon be available at https://www.arcticcongress.com/and https://csch.ca/icch/.
This year was another productive one for the International Journal of Circumpolar Health, with a record number of submissions, more than 125 at the time of this writing in mid-November, representing diverse and interesting work from all eight Arctic nations as well as several others. We published one Special Issue this year from the Arctic Military Conference in Cold Weather Medicine, and three other Special Issues are currently in development with planned publication over the next year. The scientific rigour and reach of the Journal continue to increase. Our CiteScore (Scopus) continues to trend upward, from 1.6 in 2015 to 2.0 in 2021 to 2.6 in 2022. This score denotes the average number of citations per article over a four-year period. One article, a 2020 Symposium Report from Russia on emerging threats to human health has already been cited 16 times.
Our open access status makes our journal freely available to all interested. Most of our articles receive hundreds of views within weeks of publication; quite a few have more than a thousand downloads, and at least one (a 2022 paper from Norway about the health effects of voluntary cold-water exposure) has already had over 27,000 downloads (!), reflecting great interest in and benefit from the good work of our many authors. By survey, our authors are generally very satisfied with their overall experience with the Journal (9.2 on a scale of 1-10), and with the peer review process (8.8 on the same scale). This is good news for all of us.
The Circumpolar Health Research Network (CircHNet) recently signed a multi-year publishing contract with Taylor and Francis on behalf of the Journal, and the publishers have just indicated that we will be transitioning to a new editorial management system and peer review process over the next several months and year. Several of our long-time editorial team members will be transitioning off the Board in the next several months, so it is an ideal time to welcome new talent and energy. We are now actively seeking several new editorial team members.
Have you been an active IJCH reviewer and are now seeking opportunities to increase your involvement with our Journal? Do you have editorial experience and expertise from other aspects of your professional life and are looking for new opportunities to apply them here? Are you active in circumpolar health research, practice, policy and have time to help support the continuing success of our shared Journal? Do you have new ideas about how to strengthen and improve the Journal? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, I hope that you will send me a brief note of interest about potentially joining our Editorial Board. Editorial Board members are expected to be both active and collegial contributors to the team and will be asked to manage no more than six manuscripts a year, seeking appropriate peer reviewers and making initial editorial decisions based on those reviews and their own judgement. If interested in being considered for one of the several anticipated upcoming vacancies on our Editorial Board, please send me a brief email letter of interest highlighting some relevant aspects from your background (both professional and personal) and what you hope to contribute to and gain from the Editorial role(s). Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, but submission no later than January 31, 2024, is encouraged.
In the meantime, we remain grateful to our readers who actively apply knowledge shared in these pages to help assure conditions in which all circumpolar peoples enjoy improved health and well-being, to all the authors who have trusted us in the review and dissemination of their excellent work, and to our current editorial team and many dedicated reviewers who have shared their constructive criticism and invested their time and effort to increase the quality and relevance of this Journal. The continuity of this virtual community of scholars, practitioners, engaged community members and policymakers united in our dedicated pursuit of healthier and more equitable Arctic communities gives me hope that our thoughtful collaboration and respectful knowledge exchange across borders will continue to make a positive difference in challenging times. We must be the change we want to see in the world.
Please join me in gratitude for the dedicated service of colleagues below who have made this continuing valuable scientific and professional exchange possible.
Deputy editors
Tracey Galloway – University of Toronto, Canada
Anders Koch – Statens Serum Institut, Denmark
Associate editors
Andrej M. Grjibovski – Northern State Medical University Arkhangelsk, Russia
Marit Jorgensen – Steno Diabetes Centre Copenhagen, Denmark
Juhani Leppäluoto – University of Oulu, Finland
Jon Øyvind Odland – University of Tromsø, Norway
Pamela Orr – University of Manitoba, Canada
Past editors-in-chief
Kue Young (2012–2015)
Tiina Ikäheimo (2009–2011)
Juhani Hassi (2001–2008)
Reviewers 2023: see attached/below