Editorial strategies to strengthen biomedical publications in Colombia

Abstract

This document analyzes, from a critical and forward-looking perspective, the main challenges faced by scientific journals in the fields of health and biomedicine in Colombia, as well as strategies for their strengthening. Recognizing that a robust and reliable scientific publication is a cornerstone in the knowledge value chain and the country's development, it outlines a set of coordinated strategies aimed at enhancing scientific and editorial quality, visibility, scientific integrity, and the social impact of national scientific output.

Among the key issues addressed is the need to implement rigorous editorial guidelines aligned with international standards to ensure the relevance, methodological soundness, and transparency of manuscripts. The document also highlights recommendations for the use of standardized reporting guidelines that improve the completeness of published information, as well as the promotion of persistent digital identifiers that ensure proper traceability of authorship and scientific content.

It proposes moving toward a fairer evaluation of research by incorporating contextualized qualitative and quantitative metrics and outlines concrete actions to improve peer review, diversify editorial boards, foster scientific communities committed to knowledge integrity, and adopt practices aligned with open science. In addition, it emphasizes the potential of artificial intelligence as a complementary tool to modernize editorial processes without compromising ethics or academic quality.

This document offers a potential roadmap—based on the experience of the journal *Biomédica*—to transform biomedical publishing in Colombia and serves as an invitation to all actors in the science, technology, and innovation system to engage in the collective construction of a stronger, more inclusive editorial ecosystem that serves public health.