Journal ranking is built based on the citation index of each database yearly. Despite its controversy, which is only based on its own database, to be indexed in a journal database is important for any journal to gain international visibility. Journals with a higher ranking will attract more internationally recognized authors to publish their higher-quality articles. Meanwhile, a journal should publish more high-quality articles to achieve this higher recognition. However, it is challenging for a regional journal to attract these internationally recognized authors to publish their articles in that journal. The other strategy is the capacity to sound the specific regional data to get more international attention. These data might not be an interest to the high-ranking journal with a limit on the number of articles. Meanwhile, these data can be an important future global health issue that attracts more citations.
In this issue, Medical Journal of Indonesia (MJI) has tried to sound specific regional issues. Infectious disease is still one of the major burdens in Indonesia i.e., tuberculosis and scabies. Tuberculosis can have a broader side effect on all bodies, not just the lung. Jaya et al1 reported rare constrictive pericarditis due to tuberculosis, which needed surgical management to overcome this cardiac manifestation.
Scabies is a skin disease caused by the ectoparasite mite Sarcoptes scabiei var hominis infestation, which is common in communal living groups such as dormitories and boarding schools. In Indonesia, the growth of boarding schools has been accelerating in recent years, which can increase the risk of communal disease in the school environment. The adjuvant treatment for scabies is still needed to increase the efficacy of standard treatment. Even though Anissa et al2 found no additional efficacy of Blacksoap® in Scabies treatment, Blacksoap® can offer extra comfort for patients during treatment. Thus, it might increase patient compliance for the long treatment.
There is also an article about Ramadan fasting in this issue. Ramadan fasting is one of the major religious events for Muslims every year. Even though many studies on intermittent fasting have been conducted, there have been limited studies on the impact of 29-day Ramadan fasting on general health in the elderly. Indonesia with the largest Muslim and elderly population can be a source of respondents for the Ramadan fasting study. Abdullah et al3 reported that Ramadan fasting generally did not affect kidney function in the elderly. This study showed that Ramadan fasting is safe for the elderly who are still willing to fast during Ramadan. However, several specific elderly groups with comorbidities should take precautions for Ramadan fasting.
The limitation of the advancement of novel technology is its high cost. As a developing country, Indonesia is still struggling with this cost issue. So, innovation with a lower cost in healthcare is still needed. This innovation is more crucial in animal experiment, which requires high cost. Putranto et al4 showed that the simple use of cable ties adequately simulated intestinal strangulation, leading to a higher collagen deposit denoting fibrosis. This study will expand the exploration of intestinal strangulation pathogenesis.
MJI has also raised the national social security issues. The national health insurance administrator (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial [BPJS] Kesehatan) as one of the largest social securities worldwide has been running since 2014. Despite the classic financial burden deficit during its early implementation, BPJS (as an administrator) has improved many strategies to overcome this burden. The next strategic plan is to improve the quality of care for the members. BPJS has also gained many international recognitions for these improvement changes.
REFERENCES
- Jaya M, Sejati A, Hadibrata H, Suciadi LP. A case report of tuberculous constrictive pericarditis as a sole manifestation of tuberculosis in a male adoscent. Med J Indones. 2022;31(2):120–5.
- Anissa L, Indriatmi W, Wibawa LP, Widaty S. Efficacy and side effects of Blacksoap® as adjuvant therapy of scabies: a randomized control trial. Med J Indones. 2022;31(2):102–7.
- Abdullah M, Wahyudi ER, Nugroho P, Alfian A. Kidney function profile before, during, and after Ramadan fasting in healthy elderly: a prospective cohort study. Med J Indones. 2022;31(2):115–9.
- Mukti AG, Jaya C, Suhardi RL. Current condition of social security administrator for health (BPJS Kesehatan) in Indonesia: contextual factors that affected the national health insurance. Med J Indones. 2022;31(2):85–6.