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editorial
. 2015 Feb;15(2):93. doi: 10.5152/akd.2015.02

The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology and Social Policy Interaction

Bilgin Timuralp 1,
PMCID: PMC5337021  PMID: 25697949

Although The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology is an apolitical scientific journal, it is influenced by events occuring in the country, and globalized World system. Research articles submitted to The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology pass through blinded, and impartial evaluation processes, performed with a great responsibility at every stage, beginning with the assistants of Editor in Chief till the peer-reviewers. Social turmoils have an impact on researchers, and absolutely on their investigations. In the past in many countries, but nowadays in scarce number of countries art, and science had been dominated by state, government or official authoritities, and therefore the writers, and artists had been coerced to concentrate on certain issues.

Today, science is just a click away! Excluding military information, knowledge as soon as created should be disseminated so that it can be used promptly by scientific community. However, for whom this information is targeted priorly? Is this information local, for the country or citizens of the country where it is produced or universal, for the globalized World? Such as: For a Norwegian who hasn’t ever experienced malaria, scientific information about plasmodium does not make any sense. Or in a country of mostly illiterate people with body mass indices below 18 kg/m2 and limited intellectual capacity who can be easily convinced, and deceived, what will be the benefit of anti-obesity investigations?

As observed by me, and editorial staff of Anatolian Journal of Cardiology, apart from social sciences, almost all awards granted in the fields of science, physiology, medicine, and related scientific branches are conferred to the cirizens or those practicing in “highly hygenic” countries, and in fact they deserve it. I wonder if the quality of social policies in these countries interact or have an impact on this achievement? On the contrary, awardees in the field of social sciences-which I have a little opinion about it- do not display so much differences. Investigators from countries with social problems constitute the majority of awardees.

“I ease your sufferings, if you give me money”. If this statement comes true as a result of social policies how can the physicians still be the most prestigious, and wealthy people in highly developed countries. Why the journals published in countries which produce social, and financial policies equally promoting prestige, and wealth have impact factors among scientific publications ahead of The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology?

If you evaluate the matter from my perspective, under which social policies can The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology receive more numerous, and more qualified research papers? Can social policy of a country be constructed aiming at this target? If we, the clinicians do not consider basic sciences as a necessity, then investigators on this field will not have any products, and we will not have the opportunity to consume this product -use this information in our researches. If you ask the number of clinicians, and practicing physicians among 100 Nobel awardees in the field of physiology-medicine, as far as I know they constitute only 3 percent of them. Clinician was a craftsman, however bedside skills of a physician was grasped by technology. Nowadays, without turning pages of a book, the habit of clicking on the key board has usurped our art. A citation from the article of Prof. Dr. Cumhur Ertekin: Techno-medicine. Can social policies also guide techno-medicine? Or is our generation becoming a thing in the past?


Articles from Anatolian Journal of Cardiology are provided here courtesy of Turkish Society of Cardiology

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