Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering topics in occupational medicine and environmental health. It publishes research articles, reviews, case reports, guidelines, and policy analyses relevant to workplace health, industrial hygiene, toxicology, and public health practice. The journal serves clinicians, researchers, and policymakers involved with workplace safety, rehabilitation, and environmental exposure assessment.

History

The journal was established in the mid-20th century amid rising attention to industrial hazards and occupational disease, paralleling developments such as the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the formation of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and interactions with agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency. Early decades coincided with landmark events influencing workplace health, including investigations related to Asbestos litigation, studies emerging after the Love Canal environmental crisis, and regulatory shifts following incidents like the Three Mile Island accident. Contributors over time have included clinicians affiliated with institutions such as the Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Mayo Clinic, Harvard School of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The journal has reflected evolving practice influenced by committees and organizations like the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, and professional societies such as the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the American Public Health Association.

Scope and Content

Content spans clinical occupational medicine, industrial toxicology, epidemiology, occupational psychiatry, ergonomics, and environmental risk assessment. Article types include original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, practice guidelines, and consensus statements often developed in collaboration with bodies such as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the Royal Society of Medicine, or specialty groups like the American Thoracic Society. Topics frequently addressed relate to exposures to agents like Benzene, Lead, Mercury, Silica, and Formaldehyde, as well as occupational disorders exemplified by reports on Asbestosis, Mesothelioma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Occupational asthma. The journal also publishes work on workplace interventions drawing on frameworks from entities like the World Bank, the International Commission on Occupational Health, and standards referenced to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed and abstracted in major bibliographic services and citation databases that researchers commonly consult, comparable to inclusion in repositories alongside titles catalogued by the National Library of Medicine, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and indexing services analogous to Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. Its articles are discoverable through platforms used by libraries such as the Library of Congress, university systems like Columbia University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and research networks connected to institutions including Stanford University School of Medicine and University of California, San Francisco. Abstracting facilitates citation tracking used by organizations that produce bibliometric assessments such as the Institute for Scientific Information.

Editorial Structure and Policies

Editorial governance has typically involved an editor-in-chief supported by associate editors, an editorial board, and peer reviewers drawn from academic centers and hospitals such as Yale School of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Imperial College London, and the Karolinska Institutet. Policies address peer review standards, conflict of interest disclosures involving entities like pharmaceutical companies or industrial stakeholders, authorship criteria aligned with norms from bodies such as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, and data-sharing expectations paralleling guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics. The journal enforces ethical requirements for human subjects research consistent with declarations and regulations promulgated by organizations like the World Medical Association and national review boards modeled after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration human subjects protections. Special issues and supplements have been guest-edited in partnership with societies including the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and international congresses such as the International Congress on Occupational Health.

Impact and Reception

The journal's impact has been reflected in citations by authors affiliated with institutions and organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the European Commission, and academic departments at University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Melbourne, and University of Sydney. Articles have informed policy discussions in venues like the United Nations Environment Programme and contributed to clinical guidance cited by professional groups including the American College of Physicians and the Royal College of Physicians. Reception among practitioners and researchers is shaped by comparisons with peer publications from publishers and societies such as The Lancet, BMJ, New England Journal of Medicine, and specialty journals from the American Psychiatric Association and the American Thoracic Society. Metrics used to evaluate the journal include citation indices maintained by the Institute for Scientific Information and bibliometrics referenced by academic promotion committees at universities such as Cornell University, Princeton University, and University of Michigan.

Category:Occupational safety and health journals