Expansion of CMAJ's support for health promotion and disease prevention

In fulfilling this mission, we will build on past successes, . such as the timely reports and advice on Spanish flu by ' Boucher4 and McCullough5 in 1918, on tuberculosis chemotherapy by Florey6 in 1954 and on the SARS outbreak by Hoey7 and Maunder and associates8 in May 2003. We are expanding the range of articles ( see Box 2) that will appear under the public health rubric in CMAJ. This issue, for example, includes 2 papers on HIV and hepatitis C infection among prison in0 mates9,10 and a related advocacy commentary on this important public health issue.11 When crises occur, we will help raise awareness of public health alerts, such as those issued by the Public Health Agency of Canada, using the online resources of e-CMAJ, as well as the print journal. When appropriate, we will also strive to mollify undue public alarm with reason, varied perspectives and timely, high-quality information. CMAJ is committed to improving health by disseminating knowledge that can be readily applied to practice and by advocating for changes in legislation and in program availability. As a major open-access medical journal, CMAJ can offer wide dissemination of timely research and commentary on issues relevant to the well-being of all. This expansion of the range of formats for public health articles, the breadth of topics to be covered and the size of the audience for this material signals CMAJ's commitment to the area and our recognition of its importance for the practitioners of today and for the health and well-being of Canadians for tomorrow. CMAJ Public Health Advisory Group: [Noni MacDonald MD], section Editor, Public Health, CMAJ, and Division of Infectious Diseases, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS; [Erica Weir], Associate Medical Officer of Health for York Region, Newmarket, Ont., and Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.; [David Patrick MD, Louise Potvin PhD], Department of Epidemiology, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC; Louise Potvin, Department of Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Que.; and [Jeff Scott MD], Chief Medical Officer of Health, Province of Nova Scotia, and Department of Paediatrics, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS.