OTJR 2021 Year in Review and Future Direction

The following summary contains excerpts from the Editorial What’s Next? OTJR in 2022 and Beyond from OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health 2021, Vol. 42 (1) 3-7 (Wolf et al, 2022).[1] 

"Last year we shared with you the many successes OTJR has realized in recent history and the progress of the journal. Our goal is to be the premier research journal in Occupational Therapy. We know that to achieve this goal we cannot rest on our success but have to remain diligent in our efforts to maintain the highest standards for peer reviewed publications while making the process as efficient as possible for our authors. Therefore, despite our recent successes the OTJR editorial board has focused on evaluating every aspect of our operations, from how we select members of the editorial team to how we best publicize the manuscripts published in the journal. In this editorial, we report some of the results of the efforts over this past year, including a reflection on journal publishing metrics as well as current initiatives and future directions."

2021 in Review

Journal Performance Metrics

2021 has been another outstanding year for our research publication OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health. The 2020 Impact Factor and 5-Year Impact Factor have both reached all-time highs.* With 223 submissions from January 1 to November 1, 2021, OTJR is also tracking to have a record high number of submissions. SAGE Publishing selected OTJR as a journal with great potential for content growth and invested in the journal’s future by granting an additional 30% page volume publishing budget for 2021-2022 and beyond. This continued growth represents the contributions of quality data-driven research from authors and the rigorous processes of OTJR's newest Editor-In-Chief, Timothy J. Wolf, OTD, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Assistant Editor, Associate Editors, Editorial Fellows, Review Board Members, and SAGE Publishing Partners. In addition, the editorial team presented the AOTF/OTJR Short Course: Advances in Technology to Enhance Manuscript Writing and Publishing at AOTA Inspire 2021.

Editorial Board and Review Board

"Since April 2021, several new Editorial Board members have joined OTJR. Dr. Wolf expanded the Core Editorial team, appointing Dr. Melanie Tkach as an Editorial Fellow and Ms. Bridget Comparato-Kraus as a Social Media Fellow. Dr. Wolf also expanded the Editorial Board with five new Associate Editors: Dr. Rachel Proffitt, Dr. Lauren Little, Dr. Moses Ikiugu, Dr. Dorothy Edwards, and Dr. Andrew Persch. The Review Board has also expanded with two members: Dr. Catherine Hoyt and Dr. Nedra Peter. Editorial Board members completing their terms in April 2021 included Associate Editors Dr. Juleen Rodakowski, Dr. Roseann Schaaf, and Dr. Diane Parham, and Review Board member Dr. Liliana Alvarez. 

The Top Reviewer award for 2021 will be announced at the OTJR Annual Meeting at the 2022 AOTA Conference."

Looking Back: Review of OTJR Publications 2016–2021 and Alignment with AOTF Research Priorities

Mapping Research Published Onto AOTF Research Priorities

Figure 1 lists the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) research areas and displays the corresponding number of manuscripts published, with content mapped onto those areas.

Learn more in the full article, including:

New Initiatives Implemented in 2021

• Increased Issue Volume
• Template for Conducting Reviews
• Option for Open Access Publishing
• OTJR Social Media

Looking Forward: 2022 and Beyond

• 2022 Special Issue: Functional Cognition
• Invited Commentary Articles
• Enhanced Recruitment and Outreach

Reference: 
    1. Wolf, T., Knott, M., Florindez-Cox, L. I., Medhizahdah, S., Vatinno, A., Tkach, M., & Comparato-Kraus, B. (2022). What’s Next? OTJR in 2022 and Beyond. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 42(1), 3-7. doi:10.1177/15394492211063249

*With the 2020 Impact Factor, Clarivate has introduced Early Access content in Journal Citation Reports to more accurately reflect the dynamic citation environment of rapid online publication, phasing in further changes over three years.

OTJR; Occupation, Participation and Health is the flagship scientific publication of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation. Established in 1980 and published quarterly, the research journal reflects the Foundation's commitment to advancing the profession through scientific inquiry. OTJR fosters interdisciplinary dialogue with contributions from disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, economics, anthropology, sociology, geography, rehabilitation science, nursing, and social work. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health is indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed. View OTJR subscriber benefits and author guidelines.

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