An Overview of the Journal of Police Medicine in 2022

The eleventh volume of the Journal of Police Medicine started at the beginning of 2022, in which 40 out of 90 received articles were published. All of which indexed in DOAJ, Copernicus, IMEMR, Google Scholar and some other databases. In this volume, more than 140 researchers from universities and research centers around Iran collaborated with the Journal of Police Medicine. Most of the articles were from the cities of Tehran, Ardabil, Mashhad, and Tabriz, and Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences had the highest percentage of submitted and accepted articles. The acceptance and rejection rates of articles in the Journal of Police Medicine in 2022 were 33% and 67%, respectively. The duration of receiving articles until acceptance was averagely calculated to be 84 days, although during the first 24 to 72 hours after receiving the article, entering the review process or rejecting the article was informed to the authors quickly, and 37 articles were rejected rapidly. The mean duration of accepting until publishing the article was also calculated to be 18 days. These obtained time durations are justifiable according to the flow diagram of receiving until publishing articles in the Journal of Police Medicine and considering the maximum allowed time for editing articles by authors (Figure 1). Of 40 published articles, 37 (92.5%) were of the original type, and 3 (7.5%) were of the review type. All published articles matched the fields of the journal, and a higher percentage of the articles were related to the two fields of police psychology and police health, but no articles were published in the fields of medical exemptions, terror medicine, and police medicine ethics in 2022. Considering that one of the goals of the Journal of Police Medicine is to help promote the methods used in medical centers and counseling of the Police Command, in 2022, 8 articles were published in this field [1-8]. Given the role of police in suicide prevention, Bukani et al. [3] designed a study, the results of which could be used by police consultants in case of disclosing self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Also, Amini et al. [4] and Safadel et al. [5] dealt with the treatment methods that could be used for some prevalent diseases in the military forces. Given that retired armed forces are among the elderly’s vulnerable groups due to their nature of professional activity in the pre-retirement period, 3 articles were published to improve the life quality and satisfaction of retired individuals and the armed forces staff [9-11]. By publishing 3 articles on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Journal of Police Medicine has tried to deal with some subjects related to the journal’s goals regarding urban epidemics, health, treatment, and management consequences in the crisis, and also the assessment of the Police Command healthcare centers. Jalili et al. investigated the dominant strain of the population in a specific time interval in Iran [12]. In a study, Vasei, Amini, and Tavasoli [13] also investigated the clinical hematology tests helpful in the prognosis of identifying and estimating the survival odds of patients with COVID-19. Golmohammadi, Raeesi, and Harati Khalilabad [14] investigated the performance and efficiency of selected military hospitals at time intervals before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Asadi et al.’s review study regarding managing and controlling urban epidemics indicates that the readiness of Iranian hospitals against the potential risks stemming from natural disasters is at an average level, but the readiness of some departments, such as hospital admissions, should be promoted [15]. The results of this article can inform the managers and policymakers of the Police Command health system of hospitals’ problems in probable exposure to disasters [15]. Mortezaee and Mohammadnejad also investigated the hospital information system used in the Police Command health centers to evaluate healthcare centers [16]. Vasei, Amini, and Kashani studied antibiotic resistance to improve treatment effectiveness during war and crisis [17]. Regarding medical emergencies, Saeed et al. suggest to the medical staff of the military and police forces that if it is not possible to use an ultrasound device (for example, during war or other crises), the supraclavicular method should be used in the subclavian vein catheterization [18]. Mousavinejad et al.’s study on modern technologies in preparing relief items usable in police missions indicates that new dressings with different forms (film or hydrogel) can lower the risks of possible injuries in police missions [19]. The use of new methods based on enzyme reactions to monitor the police forces’ physical health and fitness [20, 21] was also one of the practical topics published in 2022 in the Journal of Police Medicine. Some articles have also been published regarding injuries related to police activities [22] and have proposed solutions to prevent such injuries [22-24]. Considering that injuries caused by exercise are a fundamental problem among military personnel [25], a study compared the effects of CrossFit and high-intensity interval exercises with ordinary physical fitness exercises on military students’ health and performance [26]. Mohammadyari’s study on police health provided suggestions regarding the military personnel’s diet according to the existing standards based on their physical activity [27]. Saadat Azhar, Sobhi, and Zarqam explained a model that can be used to promote job productivity in the recruitment and placement of military individuals in accordance with their personality characteristics [28]. Abdoli et al.’s article on the psychology of social groups and the mental health of the Police Command staff [29] indicates that considering the defects in the media literacy of the staff, self-destruction and psychological complications are observed in some cases, and the authors suggest that the necessary training be served in in-service courses. Regarding mental health of the staff, Hamid et al. also assessed occupational and psychological injuries stemming from shift work [30]. The medical staff’s mental health significantly affects the quality of patient service provision, and Rostami, Ahmadi, and Abdi addressed new styles of controlling disease anxiety among the Police Command’s medical staff [31]. The results of studies on criminal psychology also suggest that communication skills training and early intervention in conduct disorders can effectively reduce social crimes [32, 33]. The factors influencing some crimes of soldiers and the effect of management styles were examined in Attarian et al.’s [34] study. Given the importance of criminals’ identity authentication in crime detection, Babaei et al. [35] also conducted a study on the challenges of using biometric evidence in identity recognition. Regarding addiction, the results of several studies were also published [1, 2, 6, 36]. In their study, Heidarzadeh et al. [36] reviewed quick and precise diagnostic methods of drug abuse. The results of Habibzadeh, Hashemi, and Rezaei’s research can also be a basis for addiction treatment through modern non-pharmacological methods [37]. Since many criminal behaviors occur in the drunkenness status, regarding new treatment methods related to various fields of police medicine, Soleimani et al. studied the effect of taking food supplements containing probiotics on ethanol-induced brain damage [38]. Sharifi Rahnamo et al. have provided their focal analysis regarding traffic medicine and analysis of some human factors influential in the incidence of driving accidents [39]. Koochakinejad et al. also performed a content analysis regarding solutions for enforcing wearing a helmet [40]. In 2022, by emphasizing on providing the clinical and practical points of research results regarding police medicine from the words of the articles’ authors, this journal has tried to make the studies’ results more practical for the readers. Also, aiming to increase the international audience and the articles’ citations, the main content of all articles in the eleventh volume were extracted and published in English. Thus, it can be said that as a bilingual journal, the Journal of Police Medicine has published the main content of all articles in Persian and English since 2022, and the full text of all articles will be published in Persian and English from the beginning of 2023. While appreciating all the authors, reviewers, and editors of the articles published last year (Table 1), all readers of the journal are invited to submit their precious manuscripts in different fields of the journal, particularly those fields that had no published articles in the previous volume.