IUJ Update

The year 2023 was challenging for the IUJ, starting with transitioning its leadership with new EICs, three new associate editors, and a new social media editor. Fortunately, the phase of mentoring the new members and their learning curve has come to an end. By monitoring the daily-basis activities of our editors and sharing the decision-making process in managing the manuscripts with them, we are confident that the goals were achieved as their performance in handling the paper's peer review was very satisfactory. We are happy that we have a consistent, qualified, and efficient team of editors. This is reflected also in our expressive numbers: a short turnaround time of around 30 days for the first decision after a manuscript has been submitted and less than 90 days for the final decision after the peer-review process. And a more important metric: the authors´ experience! IUJ was rated one of the top 25% journals of Springer Nature for your editorial excellence, as measured by the journal author satisfaction survey. The survey reflects how highly our authors rate their experience publishing with IUJ.

The quality assessment of our peer-review process and publishing is part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the journal and its impact factor. Starting this year, the International Urogynecology Journal implemented a double-blind review process to ensure that submissions are evaluated based solely on their scientific merit, accounting for a more transparent and unbiased assessment of the manuscripts we receive. Additionally, the names of the Editors responsible for overseeing the review and acceptance of manuscripts are listed in the published articles. This transparency acknowledges the dedicated efforts of our editorial team and provides authors and readers with a clear understanding of the individuals involved in the decision-making process.

It is a consensus that the impact factor is relevant to attract authors willing to publish their research, the academic institutions who subscribe to the journal, and the interest of the scientific community. The biggest challenge we face is to balance quality, impact factor, and international representation by giving authors all over the world the opportunity to publish in the IUJ. A longer follow-up time is required to assess those outcomes…

We hope our readers and contributors to actively participate in the journal's progress. An interesting opportunity is to contribute to the themed Collections on 1) Gynecologic oncology,

pelvic floor and quality of life, 2) Mesh-related complications pain management, 3) Sacrocolpopexy, 4) The Microbiome, Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), and Bladder Pain, and 5) Urogynaecological care for transgender individuals. We encourage researchers, clinicians, and scholars to submit their work and contribute to these focused collections, furthering the dissemination of valuable knowledge in our field. More information about the collections is available on the journal website: https://link.springer.com/journal/192/collections.

The IUJ community can also support us on Twitter: @IUJ_BlueJournal, Instagram: IUJ_Bluejournal, and Facebook: IUJ BlueJournal. Any constructive advice or if you want to serve as a reviewer is welcomed. Both IUGA and the IUJ depend on voluntary work, and together, we can shape a stimulating, comprehensive, and scientifically sound urogynecological association and journal.