Revista Enfermería Herediana

EDITORIAL

2025, July-December | Volume 18, Issue 2, e7587

Challenges facing Peruvian scientific journals specializing in nursing

Janet Mercedes Arévalo-Ipanaqué1 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2205-0522

1 Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, School of Nursing. Lima, Peru.

Scientific nursing journals have undergone a continuous process of evolution. Between 2009 and 2020, an increase in publications indexed in Web of Science was observed, mainly in the United States, Australia, and China, along with a rise in international collaborative studies led by developed countries (1, 2). This shift is not only quantitative but also reflects improvements in the quality of published research. This is evidenced by the number of high-impact articles, particularly in topics related to women, students, disease, and cancer (3). Furthermore, this growth is accompanied by increased scientific activity, as well as changes in research, education, and nursing practice policies (2).

In Peru, there are few scientific journals within the nursing discipline. The main challenge they face is achieving indexation. To this end, the most recognized databases are Web of Science and Scopus, where obtaining an impact factor is also a key objective (4). However, nowadays no specialized nursing journal in Peru has been indexed in either of these databases.

Considering that most Ibero-American journals are indexed in Latindex, Dialnet, and DOAJ, it is necessary to acknowledge their importance in enhancing the visibility of regional publications (5). Currently, of the 16 Peruvian nursing journals listed in Latindex, only five are included in the Catalog 2.0 with active status, and none has been indexed in SciELO (6).

Finally, the main challenge we face is achieving the highest quality standards in both the editorial process and the scientific rigor of published research. Therefore, support from journal editorial boards is essential to strengthen their positioning and achieve broader indexation in the near future.

REFERENCES

  1. Wang C, Shi Y, Lu H, Dong X, Hou L, Wang L, et al. Global nursing research activity from 2009 to 2020: a bibliometric analysis. Int J Nurs Pract [Internet]. 2022; 28(5): e13063. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.13063

  2. Ma Q, Li A, He Q, Wu K. A bibliometric analysis of evolution of global and Chinese nursing scientific publications. Open J Soc Sci [Internet]. 2023; 11(10): 649-659. Available in: https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2023.1110038

  3. Zhu R, Wang Y, Wu R, Meng X, Han S, Duan Z. Trends in high-impact papers in nursing research published from 2008 to 2018: a web of science-based bibliometric analysis. J Nurs Manag [Internet]. 2020; 28(5): 1041-1052. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13038

  4. Sánchez-Gómez MB, Duarte-Clíments G, Gómez-Salgado J, González-Pacheco ME, de Castro-Peraza ME, Novo-Muñoz MM, et al. Research, reading, and publication habits of nurses and nursing students applied to impact journals: international multicentre study. Int J Environ Res Public Health [Internet]. 2023; 20(6): 4697. Available in: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064697

  5. Guerrero SC, Rodríguez-Gutiérrez JK, Eslava-Mocha PR. Criterios de categorización de revistas colombianas Publindex. Análisis comparado con los sistemas de información: Dialnet, Latindex, Redalyc y SciELO. Entramado [Internet]. 2025; 21(1): 11270. Available in: https://doi.org/10.18041/1900-3803/entramado.1.11270

  6. Latindex [Internet]. [Accessed December 15, 2025]. Available in: https://www.latindex.org/latindex/inicio

© 2025 The authors. Published by Revista Enfermería Herediana.