The title of Annals of Tropical Paediatrics: International Child Health will change to Paediatrics and International Child Health with effect from February 2012 with publication of the first issue of Volume 32. A new editorial board has been appointed and members were published in the February 2011 issue. The abbreviated title will be Paediatr Int Child Health.
The rationale for the change is as follows. Annals of Tropical Paediatrics publishes papers on topics relevant to developing countries from a wide variety of countries throughout the world, mainly developing or low-income countries, but also from industrialised settings, on subjects relevant to developing countries. Thus, the word ‘tropical’ is no longer considered appropriate to publications from many of those countries which do not have a tropical climate and therefore do not have tropical diseases in the strictest sense. The new title embraces the key elements of the papers we publish: paediatrics, which encompasses clinical and laboratory aspects, and international child health which covers the wide spectrum of topics in community child health. Notwithstanding the majority of their populations being poor, some developing counties are now using advanced medical treatments and surgical and medical procedures at a level seen in industrialised countries. Submissions relating to these are considered for publication as long as they have a broad relevance to practice in low-income countries. However, authors of highly technical papers or reports of very expensive investigations or treatments are usually advised to consider submitting to more specialised journals of paediatrics.
Since 2005, the journal has published invited reviews on a variety of subjects at a state-of-the-art level. We are very grateful to these authors for the quality of their work and the support they give the journal. Unsolicited and systematic reviews are also welcome, and those which receive favourable peer review are published.
In the past, there have been occasional commentaries on papers in current issues. We now try to publish commentaries regularly, depending, of course, on receipt of papers appropriate for comment.
Original articles of high quality are welcome, particularly those which report scientific research and prospective clinical and community studies. Case reports are also encouraged but these must be on unusual conditions or complications, not mere repetition of the known topics which are readily available in textbooks of paediatrics. To be of value to readers, the discussion must be of a high quality based on a substantial review of the literature. It is hoped that the new title will attract an even broader spectrum of paediatrics than the journal has published hitherto.
Paediatrics and International Child Health will retain the ethos of the journal when it was first published in 1981 under the editorship of the founder, Ralph Hendrickse: to provide an opportunity for paediatricians working in developing countries, often under very difficult conditions, to publish in an international journal.
Literature search engines, and abstracting and indexing services, will continue to cover the journal, and retain a link between the titles Annals of Tropical Paediatrics and Paediatrics and International Child Health for the time being so that there is no confusion about the change of title.
Subscribers and corresponding authors who have published in the journal in the last 5 years will receive electronic notification of the journal’s new title.