Caribbean Health is a new medical journal that is being circulated free, 6 times each year to 4000 healthcare professionals working in the Caribbean region. It offers the opportunity both for Caribbean healthcare professionals to receive a journal of 'continuing medical education' written especially for them, and also for commercial companies wishing to market healthcare related products or services in the region to advertise their products to this group.

The Caribbean is a region which has, until now, been largely neglected by the publishers of medical journals. The launch of Caribbean Health in April 1998, therefore, received a warm welcome from doctors and other health professionals. Many have been kind enough to write to us saying: 'It's causing quite a stir out here', 'The articles are relevant', 'It's a delight to read'. A year later readers of Caribbean Health have given it a massive vote of confidence. In the recent reader survey, 61% rated it as excellent during its first year. This was supported by 37% of readers rating it as good. This editorial vote of confidence was probably assisted by the 22% increase in pagination. Each edition has an average of 44 pages, which provides even greater editorial and product coverage. Comments in the survey included: "Well documented and very relevant." Dr Cyril Paltoo, Prison Medical Officer, Trinidad & Tobago and "Articles are circulated among staff members and used in continuing educational programmes." Barbara Payton, Nursing Director, Jamaica.

An important part of the journal is the three-page round-up of healthcare news from across the region, which is compiled in our office in the British Virgin Islands. One reader in the survey commented on our "Excellent coverage of news around the Caribbean." Dr Adebowale Adeniran, Medical Office, Grenada.

Feature articles cover a wide range of clinical and other healthcare topics. Many of the articles published have been written by Caribbean healthcare professionals and we intend to increase the proportion of authorship from within the region. The 'Summaries & Abstracts' section keeps readers in touch with key research papers published in the international medical journals. Selected papers are discussed in more detail in our 'Clinical Review' section. The 'Clinical Quiz' has also proved very popular with our readers. Letters to the Editor are welcome; we see them as just one of the ways in which Caribbean Health can facilitate communication and debate across the region.

Caribbean Health includes a number of regular sections which have become firm favourites with readers.

• News - compiled in our office in the British Virgin Islands, the news section summarises new developments in healthcare across the Caribbean region.
• Medicine Digest features  - short summaries of important papers which have recently appeared in the international medical literature.
• Clinical Review - a panel of reviewers looks at new research findings in key areas and discusses their significance from a Caribbean perspective.
• Clinical Quiz offers readers a chance to test their knowledge within the context of realistic (and entertaining) stories set in a fictitious but very believable hospital!
• Letters to the Editor - correspondence from readers.

Feature Articles
Since its launch in 1998, the journal has featured numerous feature articles contributed by doctors and other health professionals working in the Caribbean, as well as by distinguished international writers. This has allowed us to deal with the most pressing health issues of the day from a specifically Caribbean angle. Topics to be included in our features section include:

April 2001

• Respiratory medicine in the Caribbean
• Asthma in the Caribbean
• Asthma treatment guidelines
• Asthma treatment for children
• Tuberculosis
  
• Quality assurance
• HIV/AIDS: the economic aspects
• Genital ulcers
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Rabies vaccination

June 2001

• Hypertension...Reducing the pressure
• Topics to be announced
  
• The management of pain in cancer patients
• The management of multiple pregnancy
• Cardiology: role of aspirin
• Cardiology: advanced cardiac life support

Our aim to is to be responsive to the requests of readers for articles on particular topics. We also expect to publish many of the unsolicited articles now being sent to us by Caribbean doctors. Our feature plan is thus subject to change as the year goes on.

How can I write an article for Caribbean Health?

Most of our articles are commissioned by the editorial team but unsolicited contributions are welcome from healthcare professionals with experience in the Caribbean.
Please note the following points:

• Our articles are reviews and not original studies.
• Articles should provide our readers (most of whom are doctors) with practical information that can help them perform their day-to-day work.
• Articles should be relevant to the Caribbean situation.
• Articles should be 1200-1700 words long. A table, graph or photograph may be included but, in that case, the maximum number of words is 1500.
• References may be cited but the reference list should be of no more than about five items.
• If possible articles should be supplied on a computer disk or as an e-mail attachment, saved as a 'text only' file. This is not possible for many writers, so a neatly typed manuscript is acceptable.
• Where appropriate, we have articles checked by an authority in the clinical area in question. It may then be necessary to ask the author to make amendments.
• Before taking the time and trouble to write a completed article, authors are recommended to send a short summary (one paragraph), so we can advise at an early stage as to whether the article would be suitable.