ISTM Publications Committee
Current Members
- Charles Ericsson, United States of America
- Web Editor: Hans Dieter Nothdurft, Germany
- Editor: Journal of Travel Medicine, Robert Steffen, Switzerland
- Editor: NewsShare, Karl Neumann, United States of America
- Steven Denny, United States of America
- Alexandra Grieve, United Kingdom
- Israel Potasman, Israel
- Doug Quarry, Australia
- Matthias Schmid, United Kingdom
- Stephen Toovey, South Africa
- Joseph Torresi, Australia
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Charter
- Coordinate and monitor publication and content of ISTM sponsored periodicals, newsletters,
listservs, and public websites
- Review and approve all other publications bearing the ISTM logo or made in the name of ISTM
that have not otherwise been internally peer-reviewed
- Review and approve all other publications
Hear appeals of decisions made by any of the 3 Editors or listserv monitors
- Review and approve all other publications
Evaluate and makes recommendations for appointment of the 3 editors
- Review and approve all other publications
Oversee the use of the ISTM logo internally and externally
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Main Achievements
The relationship with our publisher, Wiley-Blackwell, has been collegial and productive. Submission of articles can now be done entirely online. Under the leadership of the Journal of Travel Medicine editor, Robert Steffen, and with the help of his able assistant Gaby Bossard, the impact factor had risen recently. JTM has clearly become the repository for cutting edge research results in travel medicine. A recently added feature about which we are very excited is "Early View". Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication and has been edited by the publisher and ready for publication, the article will appear online in "Early View" and will be fully quotable; authors will not need to await print publication to share their work. Our contract with Wiley-Blackwell will come up for renegotiation soon and a select task force chaired by David Freedman will reexamine our contract. The Publications Committee is currently discussing a process by which we can ensure the ethical review of articles that have links with industry to insure that promotional goals of industry do not interfere with balanced scientific reporting and that ghost written articles are expressly discouraged.
Karl Neumann continues to do yeoman's work as editor of NewsShare. He leads an effort to make our society's workings and deliberations transparent and useful for the membership. We hope you enjoy the new format for NewsShare which will be published on an ad hoc basis as an email flash as news becomes available.
As you go online you should soon be able to appreciate the hard work of our Web Editor, Hans Dieter Nothdurft and a select group that has been revamping our webpage. The look and feel of our home page will change to a much more modern format that should also be more user-friendly to viewing by mobile devices. He is soliciting committee updates like this one to update the membership. As you scroll through the menu you should also appreciate new feature like Expert Opinions, a product of the Professional Education and Training Committee, and an updated Body of Knowledge to help members prepare for the ISTM Travel Medicine Exam. Likewise, a series of articles edited by Mark Shaw that feature both the ABC's as well as advanced topics on how to start and run a travel clinic will appear.
Under the able leadership of Deputy Editor, Herbert DuPont, our first Expert Reviews of Evidence Bases for the Practice of Travel Medicine have been published. The next in line is a review of personal protective measures against mosquito and other bites spearheaded by Larry Goodyer. The Executive Board is currently reviewing the process for choice of topics for what we hope is a very popular series of articles.
Finally, we give a hearty welcome to Eric Caumes (France) and Peter Leggat (Australia), who are excellent academicians and have accepted positions as Deputy Editors to help Robert Steffen in our ongoing efforts to make JTM the best it can be.
Anyone wishing more information about the Publications Committee is free to contact the Chair, Charlie Ericsson.
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Conflict of Interest Declaration (Currently required of all JTM authors)
The Journal of Travel Medicine (JTM) requires that all authors sign a declaration of conflicting interests. We will not reject papers simply because of conflicting interests, but we will declare them to the readership. A conflicting interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patients' welfare or the validity or interpretation of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain or personal rivalry). If conflicts of interest were revealed after an article was published, they might make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived.
Authors should review all of the following items before concluding they have no conflicts of interest that are relevant to the manuscript being submitted for publication.
- Acceptance in the past two years of any of the following from an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the results of your study or the conclusions of your paper:
- A fee for speaking;
- A fee for writing this article;
- A fee for organizing or chairing education;
- Reimbursement for attending a symposium;
- Funds for research;
- Funds for a member of staff;
- Fees for consulting and/or serving on an Advisory Board;
- Patent royalties.
- Employment in the past five years by an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the results of your study or the conclusions of your paper.
- Ownership of any stocks or shares in an organization that may, in any way, gain or lose financially from the results of your study or the conclusions of your paper?
- Acting as an expert witness on the subject of your study or paper.
- Any other financial, commercial, personal, political, or academic conflicts of interest.
We also require you to disclose any research sponsorship that you received to conduct the study, or prepare the manuscript or review. This information will be published together with the author affiliation information.
- Examples of acceptable statements are: "The study was carried out with support of an unrestricted educational grant from X" or "This study was funded in whole/in part a grant from Y" or "XY has accepted fees for speaking from A, B and has served on an Advisory Board for C."
- The role of the funding organization or sponsor in each of the following should be specified: design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.
It is important that you return this form as early as possible in the publication process. We will not publish your article without completion and return of the form
Please tick one of the following boxes:
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We have no interests to declare. Please print "No interest declared" with the article. |
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We have sponsorship and/or interests to declare. |
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Research sponsorship was the following: ___________________________ |
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Please print the following statement on possible authors' interest with the article: _______________________________________________________ |
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Research sponsor's contribution was the following: ___________________ |
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The corresponding author guarantees the integrity of the data and its analysis. Persons having a major part in manuscript preparation are acknowledged. |
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Signature
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Date
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Future Plans
- Continue to monitor our publications for quality. Involve committee members more in this effort.
- Work with the editor and publisher to improve the impact score of JTM.
- Develop a method of ethical review of articles written by or substantially driven by industry.
Please feel free to share your ideas or concerns with the Publications Committee. You may direct them to the chair, Charlie Ericsson.