At BMJ, we want to support authors from low and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) to publish their research by means of open access in their journal of choice. Our waiver policy has been updated so that all BMJ journals offer waivers for the full Article Processing Charge (APC) with a 100% discount for authors in LMICs. 19 We will always consider discount requests from countries not currently covered by that policy on a case-by-case basis. Advancing equity in open access publishing
This shift is driven by empirical evidence 17 showing that involving patients in healthcare decision-making enhances overall satisfaction with care, regardless of the decisions made and clinical outcomes. Shared decision- making particularly yields the highest satisfaction levels. 18 In the past
three years, between 60% and 75% of our annual events have included a patient representative on their committees, and we’re working hard to increase this. It is essential to acknowledge the challenges associated with this endeavour, particularly the considerable resources required to establish and manage new patient and public reviewer lists. Despite these obstacles, we are always looking for new ways to build better processes and maintain the high standards we have set.
BMJ has been giving free online access to our journals via Research4Life (R4L) for over 20 years. With other publishers participating in the R4L initiative, resources have collectively
been provided to more than 11,000 institutions in 125 LMIC countries.
BMJ involves patients from the outset. Engaging communities in this way has gained traction and is growing, such as helping to build resilient healthcare systems in response to health emergencies. It’s one of those occasions where BMJ got ahead of the game from its competitors. Dr Luis Gabriel Cuervo Senior Advisor, Washington, USA and Colombia
In 2022, 55.9% of all LMIC-originated research was published open access, up from 36.4% in 2021.
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