As we welcome a new year, there are many Journal for Healthcare Quality (JHQ) developments I would like to highlight. These developments are consistent with our Onward and Upward trajectory and include changes introduced in 2016 or planned for 2017.
Earlier in 2016, we updated the journal's mission to emphasize our desire to promote both the art and science of healthcare quality practice. The number of manuscripts we receive each year continues to increase, yet we remain committed to only publishing high-quality, timely, and relevant content. In 2016, we accepted only 15% of all manuscript submissions contributing to an increase in JHQ's impact factor from 1.31 to 1.51. The impact factor is a useful tool for evaluation of journals and an increase is an objective measure of JHQ's quality and rigor.
As we move into 2017, there are a few additional changes to report, which relate to our design, author guidelines, and the introduction of a new column. The new design has subtle changes that include bolder colors and more white space. We also introduce new more explicit author guidelines found on the JHQ website. These author guidelines are intended to help authors craft their manuscripts and also provide our peer reviewers with a more standardized framework for manuscript evaluation. Lastly, based on reader feedback, we introduce a new column Translation of Research into Healthcare Quality Practice. This column, written by Dr. Shea Polancich and published six times per year, will focus on taking important healthcare quality research concepts and explaining them in a practical, user-friendly way simultaneously integrating the National Association for Healthcare Quality's Q-Essentials. This issue features the first installment of Dr. Polancich's column, which presents a helpful organizational model for improvement.
In keeping with JHQ's tradition of publishing an annual themed issue, our March-April 2017 installment will feature an issue dedicated to Interprofessional Collaboration with Care Coordination. This special issue will emphasize interprofessional rounding and planned care transitions across patient populations and care settings. We hope you like where the journal is headed and welcome your feedback.