JAMA

JAMA
source
Title	The Journal of the American Medical Association
Abbreviation	JAMA
Discipline	Medicine, General medicine
Editor	Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo
Publisher	American Medical Association
Country	United States
History	1883–present
Frequency	Weekly
Openaccess	Delayed, after 6 months
Impact	120.7 (2022)
ISSN	0098-7484
Website	jamanetwork.com/journals/jama

JAMA. *The Journal of the American Medical Association* is a premier peer-reviewed medical journal published weekly by the American Medical Association. It is one of the most widely circulated and influential general medical journals in the world, disseminating critical research, clinical reviews, and commentary to advance the science and practice of medicine. The journal's content spans all medical disciplines and public health, aiming to inform physicians, researchers, and policymakers with rigorous, evidence-based information to improve patient care and population health globally.

History

The journal was founded in 1883 by the American Medical Association, with its first issue published under the editorship of John H. Rauch. Initially conceived as a vehicle to unify the medical profession and promote scientific standards, its early years coincided with pivotal reforms in medical education in the United States, notably influenced by the Flexner Report. Throughout the 20th century, it grew in stature, chronicling major medical advancements such as the development of antibiotics, the polio vaccine, and the rise of evidence-based medicine. Key historical moments include its role during the 1918 influenza pandemic and its coverage of landmark events like the Nuremberg trials and the subsequent development of the Nuremberg Code for research ethics. The journal's editorial leadership has included notable figures such as Morris Fishbein, whose tenure saw increased public engagement, and more recently, Catherine D. DeAngelis, who emphasized editorial independence.

Publication and impact

Published weekly, it reaches a vast international audience of clinicians, scientists, and health professionals. Its articles are indexed in major databases including PubMed, Scopus, and the Web of Science. The journal's impact factor, consistently among the highest for general medical titles, reflects its significant influence on clinical practice and biomedical research. It operates on a delayed open-access model, making content freely available on platforms like JAMA Network six months after publication, thereby balancing subscription revenue with public access. The journal's reach extends beyond its primary publication through associated specialty journals, podcasts, and active presence on social media platforms, amplifying its role in global health discourse and continuing medical education accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.

Editorial process and policies

The journal maintains a rigorous peer-review process overseen by a team of professional editors and an international editorial board. Its current editor-in-chief is Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, who succeeded Howard Bauchner. Editorial policies strictly enforce standards for authorship, conflict of interest disclosure, and protection of human subjects in research, aligning with guidelines from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. The journal has established specific reporting standards for different study types, such as randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews, to ensure methodological transparency. It actively addresses issues of publication ethics, data sharing, and reproducibility, and requires clinical trial registration in repositories like ClinicalTrials.gov. Its editorial independence from the American Medical Association is formally protected, allowing for critical examination of health policy issues.

Notable articles and contributions

The journal has published numerous landmark studies that have reshaped medical practice and public health policy. Seminal work includes the initial major reports from the Framingham Heart Study on cardiovascular risk factors, pivotal trials for statins in coronary artery disease, and early research on the transmission of HIV/AIDS. It has featured influential series like the Users' Guides to the Medical Literature, which helped formalize evidence-based medicine. Notable public health contributions include key studies on the dangers of smoking, the obesity epidemic, and the opioid crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it rapidly published critical research on SARS-CoV-2 transmission, vaccine efficacy trials, and treatment outcomes, becoming a primary source for frontline clinicians and agencies like the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Related publications

It is the flagship journal of the JAMA Network, a family of specialty publications also published by the American Medical Association. This network includes prominent titles such as JAMA Surgery, JAMA Cardiology, JAMA Oncology, JAMA Psychiatry, and JAMA Internal Medicine, each focusing on a specific medical discipline. Other related publications include the Archives of Internal Medicine (now JAMA Internal Medicine) and the student-oriented JAMA Network Open, an open-access journal. The network's content is aggregated and distributed through the JAMA Network Reader and other digital platforms, providing an integrated resource for medical research and education that complements the broad scope of the main journal.

Category:Medical journals published in the United States Category:American Medical Association Category:Publications established in 1883