@AfJEM

Editorial policy/ about us

The African Journal of Emergency Medicine (AfJEM) is the official journal of the African Federation for Emergency Medicine. It is an Africa-centric, peer-reviewed journal aimed in particular at supporting emergency care across, you guessed it, Africa. AfJEM publishes original research, reviews, brief reports of scientific investigations, case reports as well as commentary and correspondence related to topics of scientific, ethical, social and economic importance to emergency care in Africa. Articles will be of direct importance to African emergency care, but may have originated from elsewhere in the world.

AfJEM publishes manuscripts of international quality. This is ensured through a process of rigorous peer-review (see below) where manuscripts are evaluated for accuracy, novelty and importance. It is however recognised that African researchers in emergency care are disadvantaged in the available range of journals into which they can publish their work. The editorial team is aware that this is due to many reasons, including that developing world topics are often considered too basic for western Emergency Medicine journals, or that topics are concerned with conditions which are largely irrelevant to those audiences. Furthermore, the quality of submitted manuscripts is often lower than acceptable international journal standards due to inadequate research training. AfJEM is dedicated to support all authors who wish to make an attempt at publication on an African Emergency care topic. In order to maintain and produce a high quality, international standard Emergency Medicine journal, AfJEM has devised Author Assist. Click here for more information.

AfJEM is uniquely tailored to the needs and requirements of emergency care workers dedicated to improving emergency medicine in Africa. AfJEM specifically aims to address resource limitations as it pertains to the African continent.  It will be ideal reading material for physicians, nurses and pre-hospital care workers wishing to improve their knowledge on general emergency medicine, trauma care, paediatrics, injury and disease prevention, service improvement, policy and ethics, disaster preparedness and response, and all other aspects of emergency care. In keeping with the African Federation for Emergency Medicine, it is our aim to be recognised as the international voice of quality emergency medical care in Africa. 

Details of publisher: Elsevier BV
South Africa office:
Unit 2, Kingfisher Park, Corner Kynoch Minor Road & Nobel Street, Somerset West, 7129
Tel: +27 21 852 5981

Corporate office:
Radarweg 29, Amsterdam 1043 NX
Tel: +31 20 485 3911

Contact Elsevier

Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.  © 2015, African Federation for Emergency Medicine. 

peer review policy

Each paper submitted to the journal is firstly checked for completeness and similarity by the technical editor followed by an initial desk review by one of the editors-in-chief.  Papers not suitable for publication are either rejected outright (out-of-scope) or rejected- refer Author Assist (within scope, but poor quality).  This is usually done within the first three to five days following submission.  Papers accepted for peer review are then assigned to an associate editor who takes responsibility for assigning peer reviewers and providing a synthesis of reviews to the editor-in-chief for a decision.  All original content submitted to the AfJEM is peer reviewed by a minimum of two, and up to four reviewers.  Editorials, op-ed pieces and regular features are reviewed by a single, expert peer reviewer, usually an associate editor of the journal.  Peer review is double blinded (authors and reviewers never learn each other’s identities).   The latter is specifically required to compliment the Author Assist process.  AfJEM operates a strict peer reviewer code of conduct policy.

Notable reviewer statistics include:
  • AfJEM rejection rate for 2014 was 24%
  • AfJEM time to first decision for 2014 was 29.8 days

Disclaimer
No responsibility is assumed by African Federation for Emergency Medicine nor Elsevier for any injury and/or damage to persons, property as a matter of product liability, negligence, or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made. 

Although all advertising material is expected to conform to ethical (medical) standards, inclusion in this publication does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of the quality or value of such product or of the claims made of it by its manufacturer.

Full editorial board (since April 2015)

Co-Editors in Chief
  1. Stevan R. Bruijns | Senior lecturer, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa (stevan.bruijns@afjem.com)
  2. Lee A. Wallis | Professor and Head, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Technical editor
  1. Megan Banner | Postbac AFEM fellow, MSc candidate, Cape Town, South Africa

Production Editors (A - Z)
  1. Rachel L. Allgaier | Research Coordinator, PhD candidate, Division of Emergency Medicine, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
  2. Jared Sun | MD candidate, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT; MBA Candidate, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
  3. Jenny Beatty | Resident Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

Associate/ Section Editors (A - Z)
  1. Petra Brysiewicz | Professor, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa (Nursing)
  2. Jennifer Chipps | Associate Professor, Faculty of Community Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town,  South Africa (General)
  3. Kirsten Cohen | Consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine, New Somerset Hospital; Joint staff, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa (Mental health)
  4. Roger Dickerson | Adjunct Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, New Somerset Hospital; Joint staff, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa (Critical care)
  5. Wyness T. Gondwe | Lecturer, Kamuzu College of Nursing, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi (Case reports)
  6. Timothy C. Hardcastle | Head, Trauma Surgery Training Unit; Honorary Clinical Lecturer/Head of Clinical Unit, University of KwaZulu Natal; Deputy Director, Trauma Service and ICU, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Durban, South Africa (trauma and surgical emergencies)
  7. Clint Hendrikse | Specialist Emergency Physician, Heideveld Emergency Centre and Mitchell's Plain District Hospital Emergency Centre, South Africa (junior editor)
  8. Ian Higginson | Head of Department, Department of Emergency Medicine, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth,  UK (Management and sytems)
  9. Gabrielle Jacquet | Director of Global Health, Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center; Assistant Director of Global Health, Boston University School of Medicine; Affiliate Faculty, Boston University Center for Global Health and Development, Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, USA (Author assist and general)
  10. Craig Lambert | Senior lecturer, Department of Emergency Care, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa (EMS and technical rescue)
  11. Hein Lamprecht | Senior Emergency Medicine Specialist and Lecturer, Emergency Ultrasound Programme Director, Division of Emergency Medicine, Stellenbosch University; honorary lecturer, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa (Emergency Ultrasound)
  12. Elizabeth Molyneux | Honorary Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, Paediatric Department, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi (paediatrics)
  13. Terrence Mulligan | Emergency Physician, Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty Director, International EM Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA; Extraordinary Lecturer, Division of Emergency Medicine, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa (International development)
  14. Maxwell Osei-Ampofo | Specialist Emergency Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana (Practical Pearls)
  15. Rockefeller R.A.O. Oteng | Lead clinician, Directorate of Emergency Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital , Kumasi,  Ghana; Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan Hospital System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA (from scientific committee)
  16. Hendry Sawe | Emergency physician and lecturer, Emergency Medicine Department, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (junior editor)
  17. Wayne Smith | Head Disaster Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine, Provincial Government of the Western Cape; Division of Emergency Medicine, Stellenbosch University; University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa (Disaster)
  18. Melanie Stander | Lecturer, Division of Emergency Medicine, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch; President Emergency Medicine Society of South Africa, South Africa (toxicology)
  19. Benjamin Wachira | Emergency Physician, Accident and Emergency Department, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya (Journal Watch)
  20. Mike Wells | Adjunct Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Witwaterstrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (Acute medicine and resuscitation)
  21. Shaina Yusuf | Emergency Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Case reports)

International Advisory Team (A - Z)
  1. Aris K. Exadaktylos | Professor of Emergency Medicine, Chair, Head, and Clinical Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Universitätsspital Bern, Bern, Switzerland
  2. Conrad Buckle | Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, Barnet, UK
  3. Fausto Catena | Chief of Department, Consultant General Surgeon, Department of Emergency Surgery, Parma University Hospital, Parma, Italy
  4. Giles Cattermole | Consultant, Emergency Department, Princess Royal University Hospital, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  5. Baljit Cheema | Paediatric Emergency Specialist, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
  6. Julian Fleming | Manager: Medical Services, Emergency Medical Service Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
  7. Heike Geduld | Head Education, Division of Emergency Medicine, Provincial Government of the Western Cape, Cape Town; SAFRI fellow, South Africa
  8. Tenagne Haile-Mariam | Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine; Co-Director, Wound Care Center, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
  9. Bhakti Hansoti | Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
  10. Bob Jarman | Consultant, Great North Trauma & Emergency Centre, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne; Visiting Professor (point-of-care ultrasound), University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK
  11. Andrew M. Kestler | Clinical Associate Professor; Chair, Global EM Initiative, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia and St Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
  12. Valerie Krym | Associate Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  13. Russell MacDonald | Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Medical Director and Chair, Quality Care Committee, Ornge Transport Medicine, Toronto, Canada
  14. Raveen Naidoo | Head of Department, Department of Emergency Medical Care and Rescue, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa
  15. Bret Nicks | Associate Professor; Associate Dean Global Health, Department of Emergency Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, USA
  16. Rob Rogers | Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vice Chair of Faculty Development, Department of Emergency Medicine,  The University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
  17. David M. Walker | Director, Pediatric Emergency Department, Department of Emergency Medicine, New York Hospital, Queens Flushing, NY, USA
  18. Eric Wilke | Physician, Partner in the Emergency Center, Emergency Department, College Station Medical Center, College Station, TX, US

Outgoing editorial team members (A - Z)
We'd like to acknowledge and extend our heartfelt gratitude to outgoing editorial team members.  You helped us to be where we are today.
  1. Charles Otieno (international advisor 2011 - 2015)
  2. Nik Rahman (international advisor 2011 - 2015)
  3. Niel van Hoving (Associate Editor 2011 - 2015)
  4. Scott Zeller (International advisor 2011 - 2015)