Editorial – The Pandemic and the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

As historians, we are always mindful of the effects of context on people and events. As we continue through the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, this seems an appropriate time to pause to reflect on the effects of global events on our journal and on the work of historians of medicine in general.

Since the pandemic began, we have seen a significant increase in the number of submissions to the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. Although we are not privy to information from other journals, it is likely that historians of medicine globally have been inspired to think more about the importance of the history of health and disease. The impetus of a global pandemic to rethink the history of medicine and public health is already making a mark on our journal and on the wider field. This has been a delightful boon for the editorial team as we continue to receive submissions that ask important and penetrating questions about health, practitioners, context, and inequities as they have changed over time.

At the same time, we also recognize the incredible hardship, loss, anxiety, and increased clinical, university, and community labor that historians of medicine have endured in the past year and a half. We at the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences stand in solidarity with colleagues around the world. For the editorial team the pandemic caused significant challenges for the journal submission, review, and production process. In addition to our own heightened academic, health, and personal stress, we have found that it is significantly harder to get reviewers to agree to take on assignments (or to review revised submissions), and reviews are taking much longer. It has been important for reviewers to not feel additional pressure from the journal to complete their reviews, but this has also resulted in understandable author frustration with the length of time from submission to final decision. Further, with the increased focus on race and equity in the United States and internationally, scholars who are engaged with these pressing issues are also finding themselves under additional strain. Not only do we face difficulties in the process of getting articles through the submission and decision process, but also the production team has been dealing with waves of increased Covid-19, especially in India, that have further delayed publication.

We want to offer our heartfelt gratitude for the many, many people who have stepped up to review manuscripts, undertake book reviews, and to offer suggestions for other scholars when they could not do this labor. Our community of scholars worldwide has spent countless hours on mostly invisible, but not unrecognized, work for the peer review process to continue functioning, albeit at a slower pace during a global disaster. We also want to express a profound thank you to all those who submitted manuscripts and held on through the delays in the review and decision processes. It is inspiring to be a part of such a dedicated and accomplished group of scholars.

In the context of increased interest and corresponding challenges in publishing in the history of medicine, we are delighted to formally announce a change in the journal’s editorial structure. (This actually took place about a year ago, but in the ebb and flow of pandemic events sometimes it has been hard to call attention to things in real time.) Jacob Steere-Williams, from the College of Charleston, who had been the book review editor at the journal, has assumed the role of associate editor. Courtney Thompson, from Mississippi State University, has joined the editorial team as the book review editor.

As we continue onwards into a world in which health and disease are playing perhaps more of a significant part of our daily lives than is generally comfortable, we are going to continue to welcome submissions that address important themes such as the ways in which analysis of past events can help us think more critically about the present, the origins of ongoing inequities in society, and...