About the Journal

Reciis has been published since 2007 by the Institute of Communication and Scientific and Technological Information in Health (Instituto de Comunicação Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde – Icict) of Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – Fiocruz).

This is an interdisciplinary open-access peer-reviewed quarterly published journal with no fees charged, thus no article processing charges (APC). It publishes original texts of interest within the areas of communication, information, and heath in Portuguese, English, Spanish or French. 

Submissions to Reciis can happen at any time. Only for texts submitted to thematic dossiers, there is a specific period, as indicated in News.

Issues are published in March, June, September, and December, with the possibility of ahead of print.

There are no article processing charges (APC), which include evaluation, editing, publication, distribution and acess of submitted manuscripts.

Updated on 01/30/2024.

Focus and Scope

The journal focuses on publishing texts at the interfaces between communication and healthcare and between information and healthcare, the principal themes of the journal.

By communication and healthcare, we understand, principally, the wide spectrum of research on public policies on communication in their relationship with healthcare, as well as healthcare policies in their connections with the right to communication and to information, communication practices in the field of healthcare, cultural and communicative mediation in the health-disease-care processes, communication as a component of social inequalities in healthcare, communicative phenomena in relation to sociability processes, identity and subjectivation, the overlaps between health and the media, given its multiple formats, forms and contexts, as well as health mediatization processes.

By information and healthcare, we mean a variety of themes, such as the improvement of methods for collecting and analyzing data on health situations, given their social and environmental determinants, monitoring and evaluation of health indicators and policies, studies on scientific publications, scientific information and communication and policies on science and technology in their interactions with healthcare, the production and management of scientific and technological information in healthcare, management of healthcare information and knowledge, and the role of information systems, repositories, archives and libraries in the process of producing, circulating and appropriating knowledge in the field of healthcare.

Lastly, the innovation, field of knowledge and activities that give the journal its title have been understood since 2018 exclusively with regard to innovations in information and communication technologies in the field of healthcare, professional training and the teaching of health sciences.

The journal's sections contain original articles, review articles, essays, interviews, editorials, notes on current situations, experience reports and reviews of books and audiovisual productions, on a variety of themes, with continuous submissions of a spontaneous nature or at the invitation of the editors.

Since 2019, Reciis has published thematic dossiers that, within a specific issue and based on a central theme, bring together knowledge on the central topic, thus promoting debate and reflection on research practices in the field.

Updated on 01/30/2024.

e-ISSN 1981-6278

Themes of interest

  • Analysis of educational materials, campaigns and strategies on communication and health
  • Audiovisual and health
  • Communication and scientific diffusion
  • Communication, information, and health as human rights
  • Communication, mediations, and sociocultural practices in health
  • Ethics in communication, information and health
  • Health and media
  • Health education, communication, and information
  • Health indicators, evaluation and monitoring of health policies
  • Information and communication technologies in health
  • Information systems, and surveys and health research
  • Innovation in information, communication and health technologies
  • Internet and social networks in health
  • Journalism, publicity, and health
  • Media processes and the health field
  • Open access policies and practices
  • Prospecting, metric studies on science and technology in health
  • Research theories and methodologies in information and communication in health
  • Scientific information and health
  • Terminologies, languages and classification systems in health
  • Education, communication and information in health

Mission

Reciis's mission is to contribute to the circulation of knowledge on the interfaces between the disciplines of communications, information and public health, in order to stimulate scientific debate in these areas and also seeking to support, analyze and evaluate in a careful, rigorous way public policies regarding information and communication related to health that favor strengthening the Unified Health System as a democratic project and a locus of knowledge production.

Target Audience

The journal's target audience is researchers and enthusiasts with any level of education, in the fields of communications, information and public health.

Section Policies

Reciis publishes the following sections:

Editorial

Editorials are texts that, in addition to introducing the edition, bring scientific content with the potential to receive citations and justify their indexation and publication. They are written by Reciis's editors or by editor's invitation. Indexed.

Notes on current situations

These texts are meant to analyse (or comment) current situations in order to contribute to the deepening of topics related to the fields of communication, information, and health. They are limited to around 15,000 characters with spaces. By editors’ invitation only.

Original articles

These are contributions intended to disseminate original research results with the following elements: object, objective, problem, theoretical-methodological basis, and clearly described results. Limited to 40 to 60,000 characters with spaces. Seção aberta a submissões em fluxo contínuo, indexed and peer-reviewed.

Dossiers

These are collections of four to six original articles within subjects selected by editors that is insert in an edition in order to advance a debate, an idea or a field in relation to the overall aims of the journal. Limited to 40 to 60,000 characters with spaces. Seção aberta a submissões em períodos definidos em chamadas públicas. Indexed and peer-reviewed.

Essays

These are analytical or propositional contributions with theoretical constructs leading to the questioning of existing models and allowing hypotheses for future research. Limited to 40 to 60,000 characters with spaces. Seção aberta a submissões em fluxo contínuo, indexed and peer-reviewed.

Review articles

These are contributions intended to disseminate kinds of literature review, such as systematic review, integrative review, narrative review and scope review. Limited to 40 to 60,000 characters with spaces. Seção aberta a submissões em fluxo contínuo, indexed and peer-reviewed.

Experience reports

These are contributions that describe situations in the practice of professionals or institutions. Limited to 30 to 50,000 characters with spaces. Seção aberta a submissões em fluxo contínuo, indexed and peer-reviewed.

Interviews

These are contributions derived from interviews with authorities, specialists, or researchers whose life history or professional achievements are relevant to the fields of communication, information, and health. By editors’ invitation only. Indexed. Indexed.

Reviews of books and audiovisual productions

These are contributions that present a critical analysis of books or audiovisual productions. Limited to 15,000 characters with spaces. Seção aberta a submissões em fluxo contínuo and indexed.

Updated on 05/11/2023.

Peer Review Process

The evaluation process involves the following steps:

  1. Desk review: After submitting, the text undergoes an evaluation that involves verifying adequacy to the journal’s themes of interest, authorship policy, norms of standardization of manuscripts, ethical principles, criteria of originality, correct fulfillment of metadata, and basic parameters of scientific writing (language clarity, object and objective definition, problem formulation, theoretical foundation, and methodological approach). This process can take around two weeks and leads to three possible outcomes: (i) suitable for peer evaluation; (ii) rejected with a request for alterations and resubmission; and (iii) rejected. The rejection outcome with the possibility of resubmission in this stage implies the non-compliance with the proper use of references and citations format. Authors may resubmit the corrected text if they wish. The rejected outcome results from a manuscript address subjects beyond the scope of the journal and/or affect the journal’s criteria of originality.
    • Similarity check: Texts undergo a similarity check using computational tools such as Similarity Check, powered by the iThenticate software. If clarification is needed, the corresponding author will be contacted. In cases described in Ethical conduct, the submission will be archived.
  2. Peer review: The texts will be evaluated through double-blind peer review. After desk review, the manuscripts are sent to two ad hoc reviewers who are experts on the subject. The evaluation of reviewers is a recommendation for the associate editor, who is responsible for the publication decision together with the scientific editor. There are four possible outcomes: (i) accepted for publication; (ii) publication conditioned to modifications; (iii) required revisions, subject to re-evaluation; (iv) rejected for publication. This process takes about 24 weeks. The evaluation process will be filed if authors do not respond to reformulation requests before the deadline established in communication via e-mail.

Once approved, the following steps are copy editing and standardization. At this moment, the author may be called for clarification regarding the writing. If the author does not respond to these requests within the stipulated deadline, the text will lose priority in the publication timeline or may be archived in order to not compromise the maximum time for processing each submission (around one year).

After proofreading, finally, the text is prepared for electronic publication.

Pre-publication policy

Reciis does not accept full texts that have been previously published in other journals, conference proceedings, or book chapters. Manuscripts from theses, dissertations, and coursework papers should contain this information in the 'author's comments' field at the time of submission.

Updated on 03/10/2025.

Authorship policy

  1. Based on the current guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), Reciis requires that authors mandatorily meet the following four criteria: (1) responsibility for substantive intellectual contribution to the development of the work, i.e., conception or design of the study, or collection, or analysis, or interpretation of the work's data; (2) drafting the manuscript and critical review of intellectual content; (3) final approval of the published version; and (4) for all aspects of the work related to the accuracy and integrity of the study.

    The details of each author's substantive intellectual contribution to the development of the work must be informed at the time of manuscript submission (on the cover page) and will be published together with the work.

    Changes in authorship after the submission process will not be allowed.

  2. The corresponding author will be indicated in the system as the main contact in the list of co-authors. The authors will agree among themselves who will be the corresponding author (main contact). They will be responsible for filling in all the information in the system, organizing the documentation to be sent to Reciis (approval by the ethics committee, among other documents that may be necessary); and communicating with the journal, from the submission stage to peer review, to language review and standardization, including requests for clarification from Reciis at any stage of the editorial flow. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to inform the order of authorship on the cover page and in the system's metadata, according to criteria agreed upon between the authors of the work, in alignment with the ICMJE's authorship requirements, adopted by Reciis.

  3. About credentials: Reciis mainly publishes texts from authors or co-authors who hold a PhD’s degree. Authors who hold different degrees will be accepted according to the evaluation of the editorial board regarding originality, pertinence, and social and scientific relevance of the study in the fields of communication, information, and health.

  4. About the number of authors: a limit of five authors is recommended. A justification must be provided in the 'Comments to the editor' field for manuscripts with more than five authors.

  5. On system registration: All authors must be registered in the journal’s system.

  6. About the number of publications per author: Texts of the same author may not be published by Reciis in less than one year.

Updated on 03/09/2025.

Ethical conduct

Reciis adheres to the ethical norms, principles, and guidelines expressed in the Fiocruz Research Integrity Guide, which guide the research process from conception to publication. It also follows best practices in academic publishing, as encouraged by organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Council of Science Editors (CSE), and the Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors (ABEC).

Scientific misconduct includes non-compliance with research regulations involving human subjects, plagiarism, lack of transparency regarding conflicts of interest, lack of intellectual honesty, as well as issues related to authorship, data fabrication, data falsification, parallel submission, and redundant publication. Cases of suspected misconduct will be reviewed by the editorial team following COPE protocols.

On Research Ethics Committees

Research involving procedures with human subjects (such as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, clinical studies, among others) requires approval from a recognized ethics committee.

At the time of submission, authors must provide proof of approval by an Ethics Committee recognized by the National Research Ethics Commission (Conep), in accordance with the guidelines of Resolution 466/2012 (link) of the National Health Council (CNS) or an equivalent body in the research’s country of origin.

  • Access here the applicable regulations for research in Human and Social Sciences involving the direct collection of data from participants or identifiable information.
  • Access here the resolution regulating specific norms for research of strategic interest to the Unified Health System (SUS).

Failure to provide proof of ethical committee approval will result in the manuscript being rejected for submission.

Updated on 03/21/2025.

On plagiarism and self-plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s text as one’s own. To uphold best practices in scientific publishing and prevent copyright infringement, all submitted manuscripts are analyzed using the Similarity Check tool, powered by the iThenticate software. In cases where similarity indices compromise research ethics, the editorial team will follow the COPE protocols.

Self-plagiarism refers to the use of texts, or significant portions thereof, already published by the same author without proper citation. Reciis considers self-plagiarism to be an obstacle to publication when a manuscript contains more than 30% of previously published content in any medium or format (except for theses, dissertations, and final academic papers), whether in the form of text, graphics, tables, etc. All submitted manuscripts must present original discussions; in the case of original and review articles, the results must also be unpublished.

At any stage before the potential publication of the manuscript, the corresponding author may be contacted for clarification. Any suspected or reported case of plagiarism at any stage of the editorial process will be investigated by the Reciis Editorial Board. If misconduct is confirmed, the submission will be archived.

After publication, in cases of reported plagiarism or high similarity between texts, Reciis will establish a committee composed of both internal and external members of Fiocruz to investigate the case and provide guidance on the procedures, following the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and Fiocruz's legal advisory team. If non-compliance is confirmed, the manuscript will be retracted.

Updated on 03/21/2025.

Conflict of interest

A conflict of interest is an institutional, financial, interpersonal, or other factor that may cause any participant in the editorial process (author, editor, reviewer) to have their conduct affected or perceived as biased in conducting research, presenting results, evaluating a manuscript, or publishing it.

Reciis requires all participants in the editorial process to disclose the existence or absence of a conflict of interest and indicate its nature at any stage of the process to the Editorial Team. This measure aims to ensure an ethical and transparent editorial process.

Responsibilities:

Authors: Must declare, in the "Conflict of Interest Declaration" field on the title page, whether a conflict of interest exists and specify its nature at the time of submission. Examples:

(i) The authors are part of Program X at Institution Y, which publishes this journal.

(ii) All authors are members of the field reported in the case study.

(iii) Author X was the master's advisor of Y, the current associate editor of the journal.

(iv) The research funding institution provided the analyzed data.

Reviewers: Must declare, in the "Conflict of Interest Declaration" field on the title page, whether a conflict of interest exists and specify its nature at the time of submission. Examples:

(i) The reviewer works in the same group, research laboratory, or institution as the authors.

(ii) The reviewer was the Ph.D. advisor of Author Y.

(iii) The reviewer conducts research in a field subject to academic dispute.

Associate Editors: Upon receiving an invitation from the scientific editor, they must declare, in the "Review Discussion" field, whether a conflict of interest exists and specify its nature. They should also consider potential ethical issues when selecting reviewers.

If authors disclose a conflict of interest, the associate editor must assess its relevance. If a reviewer discloses a conflict of interest related to author identification, the editor must disregard the review.

After reviewing the manuscript and the evaluations, if the editor determines that a conflict compromised the collective interest or improperly influenced the research or manuscript evaluation, they must notify the Editorial Team so the submission can be reviewed or rejected by the scientific editors.

Reciis will disclose any conflicts of interest identified during the editorial process at the time of publication.

If a conflict of interest is declared, the Editorial Team will evaluate its relevance and take measures to minimize its impact, ensuring an ethical and transparent process. This includes selecting editors and reviewers according to ethical evaluation and publication procedures.

If a conflict of interest is not properly declared, the Editorial Team will contact the relevant parties for clarification and assessment based on COPE guidelines. A manuscript’s editorial process may be suspended until appropriate clarifications are provided. If the explanations are unsatisfactory, the submission will be archived.

Reciis reserves the right to disclose to readers any undeclared conflict of interest that does not prevent the manuscript’s evaluation and publication.

If an undeclared conflict of interest is reported after a manuscript has been published, the Reciis Editorial Team will investigate the case, which may result in retraction.

Updated on 03/10/2025.

Data fabrication and falsification

Data fabrication is the presentation of false data or results. Data falsification refers to altering data to obtain fraudulent results with a new meaning and interpretation. Both undermine the reliability of research.

In cases of suspected data fabrication and/or falsification, Reciis will follow the COPE guidelines, which include requesting clarifications from the authors and, if necessary, reporting to and/or seeking assistance from the relevant authorities.

Updated on 03/21/2025.

Parallel submission

Parallel submission is the submission of the same manuscript to more than one potential publication opportunity after the first editorial process has started. The editorial process begins with the submission of the manuscript by the author to Reciis and ends with the editorial decision of rejection received by the author or the publication of the manuscript in Reciis.

Updated on 03/21/2025.

Appeal process

Any form of contestation or complaint should be sent to the email reciis@fiocruz.br for evaluation by the scientific editors of Reciis.

Updated on 03/21/2025.

Open access policies

Reciis is a diamond open-access journal, meaning there are no fees for authors or readers, in accordance with the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz's Open Access Knowledge Policy.

Readers rights: Open access to all articles immediately after publication.

Reuse rights: Reciis adopts the Creative Commons License, CC BY-NC. This license allows users to access, download, copy, print, share, reuse, and distribute articles for non-commercial use, provided the source is cited, proper author credits are given, and Reciis is mentioned. In these cases, no permission from the authors or editors is needed.

Authors' rights:  The author grants and transfers the right of use of the work to Reciis and Fiocruz permanently, irrevocably, free of charge, and exclusively for the first publication.

Depositing rights/ self-archiving: Authors are encouraged to deposit the published version in institutional repositories, including the link to their article in Reciis.

Updated on 03/21/2025.

Open data policy

Reciis encourages the deposit of research data into an open data repository. We ask authors to enter the access URL in the article information under Open Data. 

Learn more about Open data here: Open research data: broadening the concept of free access, authored by Luís Fernando Sayão and Luana Farias Sales.  

Example of an open data repository:

Figshare: http://figshare.com/ 

Policies for indexation

Reciis adopts the criteria required by the Lilacs and SciELO methodologies. 

We have adopted up to three hierarchical levels in institutional affiliations.

We stimulate the use of channels of access to scientific production, such as institutional repository, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate, for information about authors.

We require the use of controlled vocabulary - such as the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) and the Thesaurus for Information Science - for keywords.

Guidelines for preparation of Dossiers

Dossier proposals should be sent to reciis@icict.fiocruz.br for evaluation by the scientific editors. They should contain the theme of the dossier, its connections with the disciplines of communications, information and healthcare, and identify the proposers. (See the section Notices for public calls for previous dossiers).

 Objective

  • To create a specific issue of Reciis, a debate, an idea or a field related to the themes of interest  of the periodical. The texts submitted will be processed through normal channels, as explained in the section on the  Peer Review Process .

Structure

  • The dossier must contain four to six original articles We recommend that at least one article be from authors affiliated with a foreign institution. The dossier must also contain an introduction written by the guest editors. The text must include scientific content with the potential to be cited and justify its indexation and publication.

 On guest editors:

One or more of the guest editors must have a doctoral degree. Reciis values institutional and geographic diversity of editors and encourages the participation of foreign editors.

 Tasks of guest editors

  • Propose the theme of the dossier to Reciis's scientific editors.
  • Write the public call for submissions;
  • Take part in disseminating the dossier (both while it is being prepared and after it is published), with the support of the Reciis editorial team;
  • Invite authors to submit texts to the dossier. It is important to make clear to authors that the invitation to submit a text does not imply acceptance of the submitted manuscript. It will be peer-reviewed as per the Reciis editorial policy;
  • Assess the merits of the text and relevance to the dossier. Scientific editors may suggest that texts submitted to the journal be included in the dossier;
  • Read the texts before selecting peer reviewers for the evaluation process;
  • Manage editorial flow within the Reciis publication system, with the support of the Reciis editorial team;
  • Follow the messages exchanged with the team;
  • Take care to follow the production schedule agreed upon with the journal's team;
  • Ensure that peer reviews are performed for the manuscripts, if a text has not received two peer reviews by the deadline for final editorial decision-making according to the schedule established by the journal; 
  • Write the presentation of the dossier to be published in the issue;
  • Comply with and enforce Reciis editorial policies, defined on the site  (https://www.reciis.icict.fiocruz.br/index.php/reciis/about/editorialPolicies#focusAndScope);

 Tasks of the Reciis team

  • In general: support the guest editors through the various stages of preparing the dossier
  • In particular:
    • Scientific editors: when creating the dossier idea, the call for submissions and questions of a scientific or ethical nature during the production and publication of science; desk review of the manuscripts submitted. in the final decision on publication;
    • Editorial assistant: desk review of the manuscripts submitted, guidance for authors, editors and peer reviewers regarding use of the system (access, registration, submission of a new version);
    • Social communication: in the design,  production and dissemination of publicity for the call for submissions, the release of the dossier and the articles published;
    • Executive editor: for planning of the publication and management of the stages of text preparation (copydesk, author's proofs, diagramming and publication);
    • Editorial coordinator: management of activities, guidance of team. 

Estimated production time: seven to nine months.

Open call: 60 to 80 days.

Final editorial decision: about 100 days (in peer review: 70 days).

Preparation of the publication: about 45 days.

Updated on 07/12/2023.