Scientific biomedical journals in Croatia.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the current situation in biomedical journal publishing in Croatia, according to the journals editorial and publishing characteristics.


METHODS
A survey questionnaire with 38 questions was sent to the editors-in-chief of 43 biomedical journals in Croatia. Thirty-seven journals were analyzed.


RESULTS
In 2000, there were 14 general and 23 specialized biomedical journals in Croatia. Twenty-five journals received financial support from the government. Six journals were indexed in MEDLINE, with two of them also in Current Contents, 20 in other bibliographic databases, and 11 were not indexed at all. Twelve journals published articles in English, 11 in Croatian, and 14 in either English or Croatian. Only 9 journals were available on-line: 5 offered abstracts only and 4 offered full-text articles. There were more indexed than non-indexed journals that were financially supported by the government (p=0.031) and published in English or either English or Croatian (p=0.011). Indexed journals published more pages (p=0.020) and received more articles (p=0.030) per year. Five journals provided salary for the editorial staff and 4 paid the reviewers services. Median number of subscribers was 250 (range, 0-7,000) and median circulation 650 (range, 300-7,200). Finances, number and quality of articles, and problems with the review process were perceived by editors as the most important problems.


CONCLUSIONS
Many journals had financial problems despite receiving governmental or other support. Low number/quality of articles received and inefficient review process could reflect the self-containment of Croatian medical community, which comprises around 11,000 physicians and dentists. Large ranges in circulation, number of subscribers, and number of pages published per year, as well as in indexing rates, might imply large differences among the journals in their target readership and editorial policies and performance.
Misak
Aleksandra
A
Croatian Medical Journal, Zagreb University School of Medicine, Salata 3b, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. cmj@mef.hr
Petrak
Jelka
J
Pećina
Marko
M
D017523:Croatia; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D012586:Science; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires