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Editorial

In spite of its evident merits regarding the content of the works, the compliance with the rules of peer review and periodicity, as well as the observance of the criteria of normalization, Revista Bioética still did not acquire an evaluation up to the standards of its quality and prestige in any of the equivalent areas of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) 1. Sistema Integrado Capes. WebQualis. [Internet]. [acesso 24 abr 2015]. Disponível: http://qualis.capes.gov.br/webqualis/publico/pesquisaPublicaClassificacao.seam
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, in which are represented in the printed version:

  • Interdisciplinary

  • Teaching

  • Physical Education

  • Nursing

  • Psychology

  • Odontology

  • Public Health

  • Social Service

  • Medicine I

  • Medicine II

  • Languages/Linguistics

  • Philosophy/Theology

  • Philosophy/Philosophy

  • Biological Sciences II

  • Biotechnology

  • Law

Besides these fields the online version of the magazine also receives evaluation in sociology. Although it currently is restricted to a single example, there are cases in which the evaluation of the printed issue differs from the online version in the same field, this causing astonishment, given that the content of both is exactly the same 1. Sistema Integrado Capes. WebQualis. [Internet]. [acesso 24 abr 2015]. Disponível: http://qualis.capes.gov.br/webqualis/publico/pesquisaPublicaClassificacao.seam
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.

It is futile for evaluations of fields to be found below the expected; firstly because we consider it important that professionals of many sectors have seen the Revista Bioética as an appropriate vehicle for the disclosure of their works. For a journal of bioethics – of which the themes discussed are generally tied to public health, public health, ethics in research or medicine, and whose areas of knowledge, which are aligned with it for the purpose of establishing research methodology or topics of reflection, encompass an extensive range of knowledge (from humanities to engineering) -, it is comforting to verify that our initiative of selecting with strictness and improving constantly the quality of the articles published has awakened the attention of students, professors, researches, scholars and evaluators in each of those fields.

Yet, it is still necessary to remember that, in spite of these efforts, the results in terms of evaluation by the CAPES fields have not been rewarding. Notwithstanding the unquestionable fact of its constant improvement, confirmed not only by its inclusion in SciELO, Redalyc and other indexing sources, but also by the acknowledgement of the Brazilian and foreign scholars and researchers in the field of bioethics (and other areas) who publish in it constantly, improvement in the journal’s strata of classification in CAPES since 2013 occurred only in Medicine I, which changed from B5 to B4. Conversely, there was an inexplicable regression in two areas, Social Service and Philosophy/Theology, in which we went from B3 to B4 and from B2 to B5, respectively.

This phenomenon is frankly frustrating to the editors and the members of the editorial staff. Though aware that there would not be alteration of the classification in all areas, we expected and considered fair and certain the change of indicator at least in the interdisciplinary areas, Teaching and Law, and in Medicine I and II, after the indexing in SciELO. If the volume of works published in each of these areas was not enough, to accomplish all the analytical requisites of editorial quality in form and content justifies the improvement of the indicators.

In order to give an approximate idea of the quantity of works in each area, the 140 articles published during the period of 2013-2015 were classified, considering in this last case only the first edition of the year (April 2015). Through this set it was possible to distinguish the focus of each one of these works contemplating the field, the theme, the methodology, or the interface of these aspects. In this process, were defined, roughly, four prevailing areas for the construction of bioethical reflection in general, and frequent in the Revista Bioética specifically, in which fit the majority of the published works: Interdisciplinary, Medicine I, Medicine II and Law. It is important to note that, given the characteristics of the articles, most of them can be classified in more than one area.

In this respect, it is fitting here to make a small digression concerning the definition of fields of the works published in Revista Bioética. If in its period of emergence the discipline was seen only as part of medicine, in the last decades its interdisciplinary aspect has been emphasized, in relation to which Medicine and Public Health are prevailing themes, worked on methodically and philosophically by means of conceptual tools of several disciplinary origins, principally from humanities and law. Even if it is possible to expect that, in the future, bioethics comes to constitute its own field, delimiting its specificity on the broad interdisciplinary spectrum, one has to acknowledge that this delineation can only be constituted by the amalgamation of scientific exactness in the production of knowledge and philosophical rigor in the analysis of values associated with this factual knowledge that, in itself, reinforces the interdisciplinary character of this field of knowledge, which would allow to be characterized, a priori, all the works published in this category.

It must also be observed that in this initial thematic analysis the area of Teaching was not set apart for consideration; equally, that all articles, either of update or research, are directed to the process of education, whether by the formal transmission of knowledge, or by stimulating the adoption and improvement of ethical values in the civic and professional dimensions. Bearing in mind the necessity of restricting the selection, in order to reproduce the analytical limits of each field of knowledge and to address the predominantly practical goal, 29 articles will be classified as specifically focused on this area, which would correspond to just over 20% of the total, which will be the object of argumentation in another part of this text. The quantities of update and research works in the four designated fields are detailed in Table 1as follows:

Table 1
Revista Bioética – Quantity of articles per field/issue.

An examination of Table 1 permits understanding of the frequency with which theoretical approaches, concepts and themes of the predominant areas in the field are discussed in the articles published in Revista Bioética. There were 124 articles directed towards reflection on the Interdisciplinary field; 59 characterized as Medicine I, which include specialties such as health science, public health, ethics in research and deontology; 81 classified as Medicine II, which encompasses ethical aspects concerning the practice of pediatric, geriatrics, obstetrics, neurology, psychiatry and prevention of infectious diseases; besides 46 directed to different aspects of Law, that reach from the ordinary normative and legal dimension to analysis of the constitutionality of biomedical procedures and public politics, considering, further, these relative to human law and international law.

It is worth highlighting that, faced with the expressed quantity of articles directed to discussion of the dynamics of multidisciplinary teamwork in the field of health, it is difficult to divide these into thematic areas, since multiple aspects of the work processes derive from the interconnection between them. Thus, articles about the Family Health Program (Programa Saúde da Família (PSF)), for example, classified as Medicine I, could also be counted as works related to Public Health and Nursing. To avoid excessive classification of each work, it was decided here to include them only in the fields objectively appointed by the authors in the summary of each work, in the methodology, in the discussion of results or in the references.

Besides these four prevailing categories, there were counted in these volumes, in a smaller quantity, 16 articles discussing different aspects of the training or activities of nursing professionals. Other areas were also included in the works, such as Public Health (25); Social Sciences – Sociology and Anthropology (15); Philosophy – Philosophy and Theology (12); International Relations (11); Psychology (8); Economy (6); Communication (5); Veterinary Medicine (3); Urbanism (3); Odontology (3); Ecology (2); Epidemiology (2); Geography (1); Physical Education (1); Statistics (1). These participations demonstrate, once more, the interdisciplinarity of bioethics, a characteristic fully fostered in the periodical.

Reviewing the evaluation of the fields

Interdisciplinary

Considering information contained in the “Documento de Área 2013” of the Interdisciplinary field evaluation, which states that the entrance of periodicals for Qualis is automatic, from the yearly reports of the programs2. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. [Internet]. Diretoria de Avaliação. Documento de Área 2013. (Área de avaliação: Interdisciplinar). Capes; 9 dez 2013 [acesso 27 mar 2015]. p. 36. Disponível: http://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacaotrienal/Docs_de_area/Interdisciplinar_doc_area_e_comiss%C3%A3o_block.pdf
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,it is of utmost importance to note that, in the period cited, the Revista Bioética published articles by professors and students connected to several lato and stricto sensupost-graduate programs in bioethics, notably in the Post-Graduate in Bioethics Program of the University of Brasília – UnB (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioética da Universidade de Brasília (UnB)), the Bioethics Program of the São Camilo University Center (Programa de Bioética do Centro Universitário São Camilo), in addition to the Post-Graduate Program in Bioethics, Applied Ethics and Public Health (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioética, Ética Aplicada e Saúde Coletiva (PPGBios)), instituted by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz)), Rio de Janeiro State University (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Uerj)) and Fluminense Federal University (Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF)), besides works of the Doctorate in Bioethics (Doutoramento em Bioética) offered by CFM in partnership with the Bioethics and Medical Ethics Service of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (Serviço de Bioética e Ética Médica da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto), among other courses and disciplines offered by various institutions.

So that an idea may be had of the recognition of the periodical by these post-graduate programs, it is pertinent to state that there were published, in the period, 16 articles produced by the students and professors of UnB; 4 originating from the programs of the São Camilo University Center, and 9 created within the ambit of the PPGBios. Besides these, the periodical also published 25 works by faculty and specialty students, master’s and doctoral students in other areas, originating from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS); from the Laboratório de Bioética e de Ética Aplicada a Animais do Instituto de Bioética from the same institution; from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR)); from the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos); from the National School of Public Health (Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (Ensp)), and from the Medicine Faculty of the University of Porto (Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto), in Portugal.

Furthermore, amongst the articles published in this period, 29 were produced by graduate students who were studying the disciplines of ethics or bioethics on law, medicine, or nursing courses, in addition to other areas of health, or of recent graduates from these areas of training. Adding the articles of faculty and post-graduate students (54) to the ones produced in the graduate field, 83 works are obtained, which correspond to around 60% of the total published. In this sense, it can be added that the publication of works by the periodical did not just consolidate and stimulate bioethical reflection in the country, as it also collaborates – in an effective manner – with the formation of professional boards capable of discussing bioethics and of creating and developing programs and disciplines of bioethics that in the near future will culminate, unarguably, in the consolidation of the field as an interdisciplinary subfield.

It is thus fitting to reiterate the role of Revista Bioética as a principal promoter of bioethical reflection in Brazil, especially since 2007, when the periodical reformulated its editorial policies and its work processes, in order to align itself with transformations in the editorial rules and norms of scientific publications. These changes allowed periodicals to follow – in fact – the system of dissemination adopted internationally and, in consequence, affected national academic production, guaranteeing its quality. By striving for punctual publication, instituting a strict system of double-blind evaluation, by acquiring an editorial body that is highly qualified in bioethics and medical ethics, as well as by attracting gradually the acknowledgement of ad hoc evaluators originating from other fields, in just over eight years the periodical distinguished itself amongst scholars in the field for its integrity, competence and quality.

In light of the aforementioned, we solicit the revision of the classification of the Revista Bioética in the Interdisciplinary field, daring to suggest that it may rise to the tier of 25% of the periodicals that reached maximum grade –A1. Such a request is justified not only by its evident quality, here amply identified and described, but also because it is the only magazine on bioethics in the country indexed in these/those/the? databases, and therefore, capable of responding to the increasingly specific needs of this growing field.

It is yet more imperative to underline that in order for the field of Bioethics to flourish, it is necessary that researchers, tutors, professors and students of bioethics can rely on a periodical in the field, a vehicle for information and dissemination of its researches, which has a classification in CAPES that is worthy of the growing acknowledgement of Bioethics in Brazil.

Teaching

Starting from the reasons specified previously regarding the characterization of the field of bioethics, it would be possible to classify the Revista Bioética in relation to the field of Teaching as a multidisciplinary periodical, due to the lack of a more precise specification for the type of frontier knowledge published by it. Its acknowledgement by the Teaching field is in agreement with the purpose on one of the five axes of the National Plan of Post-Graduation (Plano Nacional de Pós-Graduação (PNPG 2011-2020)): the incentive to interdisciplinarity. The inclusion of the periodical in the field reinforces its identity even more with the plural knowledge that is bought together at the frontier of the humanities and the biomedical fields.

The “Documento de Área 2013” of the field of Teaching evaluation permits published works to be related to the proposal of stimulating the teaching of particular content3. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. [Internet].Diretoria de Avaliação. Documento de Área 2013. (Área de avaliação: Ensino). Capes; 9 dez 2013 [acesso em 27 mar 2015]. Disponível: http://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacaotrienal/Docs_de_area/Ensino_doc_area_e_comiss%C3%A3o_block.pdf
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. In the case of the Revista Bioética, this would be those articles that are focused on understanding that goes beyond merely technical knowledge in the areas of health and propels reflection upon social moralities and cultural values, from, in a purely symbolic perspective, the sphere of ethics, to the existential application of such interpretations, the bioethical dimension. In other words, understandings formulated and applied at the exact point on which teaching, cognition and learning converge.

The recognition of the Revista Bioética by the Education field is revealed thus as extremely important for the health disciplines - medicine, nursing, psychology, dentistry etc. -, which are demanding subsidy for joint action as much in the hospitals as in the primary care teams. It is no coincidence that, for the most part, the items directly related to the Education theme stem from research projects to raise, analyze and evaluate problems in service delivery in health, in addition to the ethical and bioethical component present in the training of professionals. These issues of the magazine, it should be noted, had/have/ published works of graduate students together with their teachers, in 11 Brazilian higher education institutions and one from Argentina. In addition to these, they had also published articles by graduates from 18 higher education institutions in 10 Brazilian states. The publication of these papers indicates the interest the journal awakens among the students who choose to publish articles in its pages originating from their final papers, taking into equal account both specialized peer review and the public affected by the the issues addressed.

The cited document states that the periodicals not specifically classified as pertaining to the education area would receive ratings from B2 and B5, upon fulfillment of some requisites 3. Perhaps it is this criterion that determines the current stratum of the Revista Bioética. But, as seen, it is essential to think the journal is the only Brazilian bioethics publication to achieve indexing in SciELO, becoming therefore the main specialized vehicle for reflection and discussion of this delicate (but essential) theme for teaching and learning in all areas of health. If each area has several vehicles for disseminating technical aspects of their specialties, the Revista Bioética in focusing on considerations deontological, ethical, and moral of all these, can be considered the most qualified Brazilian journal to exhibit the discussions that must accompany the incorporation of new techniques and health technologies.

In consequence of this, review is requested of the journal´s stratum evaluation, with the suggestion to include it in the A2 level, as supported by the second point of this stratum, taken from Table "Criteria for the classification of periodicals" (“Critérios para a classificação de periódicos”) on page 38 of the 2013 paper, published by the area of Teaching evaluation 3. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. [Internet].Diretoria de Avaliação. Documento de Área 2013. (Área de avaliação: Ensino). Capes; 9 dez 2013 [acesso em 27 mar 2015]. Disponível: http://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacaotrienal/Docs_de_area/Ensino_doc_area_e_comiss%C3%A3o_block.pdf
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.

Medicine I

Identifying itself as multidisciplinary, Medicine I is arguably one of the most prestigious areas for bioethical reflection, as much with regard to the analysis of public health policies as with respect to reflection on the adoption of ethical standards in the clinic and in research. In conformance with the very genesis of bioethics reflection, an area included in/linked to Medicine I is the privileged locus of this class of knowledge that sustains professional practice. By encouraging reading and discussion of these issues, the Revista Bioética is contributing to the ethical training of professionals dedicated to the clinic, as well as scientists who, through their investigative work, will provide these doctors with new tools for the diagnosis and treatment of patients 4. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. [Internet]. Diretoria de Avaliação. Documento de Área 2013. (Área de avaliação: Medicina I). Capes; 30 ago 2013 [acesso 27 mar 2015]. p. 8. Disponível: https://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacaotrienal/Docs_de_area/Medicina_I_doc_area_e_comiss%C3%A3o_att08deoutubro.pdf
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.

Of the 140 articles published in the seven editions/numbers/volumes analyzed throughout this explanatory memorandum, 59 can be classified as relevant to the Medicine I field, considering equally the topics covered and the processes discussed. The thematic range of these works is vast, covering biomedical ethics as a whole, notably in works that evoke the principlism theory 5. Beauchamp TL, Childress JF. Princípios de ética biomédica. São Paulo: Loyola; 2002. or deliberation model ethics 6. Gracia D. Moral deliberation: The role of methodologies in clinical ethics. Med Health Care Philos. 2001;4(3):223-32.

. Gracia D. La deliberación moral en bioética: interdisciplinariedad, pluralidad, especialización. Ideas y Valores. 2011;60(147):25-50.
-8. Zoboli E. Tomada de decisão em bioética clínica: casuística e deliberação moral. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2013;21(3):389-96., as well as in those articles which discussed ethics in research involving human subjects, including, among these last, those that also discuss international and national instruments to ensure ethical treatment of study participants 9. Tribunal Internacional de Nüremberg. Código de Nüremberg. [Internet]. Nüremberg; 1947 [acesso 1º maio 2015]. Disponível: http://www.gtp.org.br/new/documentos/nuremberg.pdf
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10 . Associação Médica Mundial. Declaração de Helsinki. [Internet]. Helsinki; 1964 [acesso 1º maio 2015]. Disponível: http://www.cometica.ufpr.br/Helsinque.htm
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11 . Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Conselho Nacional de Saúde. Comissão Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa. Normas e diretrizes para pesquisas envolvendo seres humanos. Resolução CNS nº 196/1996. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2000. (Série Cadernos Técnicos).
-1212 . Brasil. Conselho Nacional de Saúde. Comissão Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa. [Internet]. Publicada Resolução 466 que trata de pesquisas em seres humanos e atualiza a Resolução 196. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 14 jun 2013 [acesso 1º maio 2015]. Disponível: http://conselho.saude.gov.br/ultimas_noticias/2013/06_jun_14_publicada_resolucao.html
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. Furthermore, they are the subject of interest of the authors in the/this? list of articles in the resolutions edited by CFM, especially Resolution 1.805/2006 1313 . Conselho Federal de Medicina. [Internet] Resolução CFM nº 1.805/2006. (Publicada no DOU, 28 nov. 2006, Seção 1, p. 169). Na fase terminal de enfermidades graves e incuráveis é permitido ao médico limitar ou suspender procedimentos e tratamentos que prolonguem a vida do doente, garantindo-lhe os cuidados necessários para aliviar os sintomas que levam ao sofrimento, na perspectiva de uma assistência integral, respeitada a vontade do paciente ou de seu representante legal. 2006 [acesso 4 maio 2015]. Disponível: http://www.portalmedico.org.br/resolucoes/CFM/2006/1805_2006.htm
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and Resolution 1.995/2012 1414 . Conselho Federal de Medicina. [Internet]. Resolução CFM nº 1.995 /2012. (Publicada no DOU de 31 de agosto de 2012, Seção 1, p. 269-70). Dispõe sobre as diretivas antecipadas de vontade dos pacientes. 2012 [acesso 4 maio 2015]. Disponível: http://www.portalmedico.org.br/resolucoes/CFM/2012/1995_2012.pdf
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as well as the issues associated with them, such as studies of termination of life and hospice philosophy.

In addition to responding to ethical reflection needs around clinical research, the Revista Bioética has provided the basis for students and professionals to think about the new ethical challenge to be introduced by the field: translational medicine, which implies not only the allocation of substantial financial resources but above all new skills and capabilities to plan, build and promote models of coordinated action. Such a challenge also requires new competencies in the training and management of human resources capable of working within an interdisciplinary perspective, which, notwithstanding their technical aspects, also constitute some of the essential elements of this medical model. In this sense, the journal's contribution is modest - although fundamental – confining itself especially to the processes of change in social and political behavior that can result from bioethical reflection.

Just to illustrate the forthright way in which the editors and the editorial board of the Revista Bioética seek to promote reflection oriented to the consolidation of new paradigms relevant to the Medicine I field, let us stick to the theme of the termination of life, covered in 31 articles analyzed in issues between 2013-2015. Several of these works expound on the subject in its most general aspects, such as how to communicate bad news in oncology 1515 . Geovanini F, Braz M. Conflitos éticos na comunicação de más notícias em oncologia. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2013;21(3):455-62. or the correct completion of the death certificate 1616 . Lucena L, Cagliari GHB, Tanaka J, Bonamigo EL. Declaração de óbito: preenchimento pelo corpo clínico de um hospital universitário. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(2):318-24.. Others explain in detail ethical standards of professional behavior in extremely delicate situations for the patients and their families, such as the moment of the end of life 1616 . Lucena L, Cagliari GHB, Tanaka J, Bonamigo EL. Declaração de óbito: preenchimento pelo corpo clínico de um hospital universitário. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(2):318-24.

17 . Gomes HA, Almeida MA, Matoso TVF, Viana MAA, Rezende MBC, Bento MAF et al. Limitação de esforço terapêutico na pessoa com lesão encefálica grave. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(2):282-90.

18 . Nunes MI, Anjos MF. Diretivas antecipadas de vontade: benefícios, obstáculos e limites. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(2):241-51.

19 . Dadalto L, Tupinambás U, Greco DB. Diretivas antecipadas de vontade: um modelo brasileiro. Rev. bioét. (Impr.).2013;21(3):463-76.

20 . Silva JAC, Souza LEA, Silva LC, Teixeira RKC. Distanásia e ortotanásia: práticas médicas sob a visão de um hospital particular. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(2):358-66.

21 . Salles AA. Bioética e processos de religiosidade entre os pacientes com doenças terminais no Brasil. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(3):397-406.
-2222 . Magalhães JL, Nunes R. Tradição e fundamentos éticos hipocráticos aplicáveis à terminalidade da vida. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(3):448-55..

Considering, then, the intrinsic and undeniable association between bioethics and the area and subfields of Medicine I, it is worthwhile to consider the importance of raising the current stratum evaluation of the Revista Bioética, with a view not only to their uniqueness and relevance to the area, but especially to the response that this incentive will provide in attracting more and more articles relevant to the training of medical professionals, in addition to the dissemination of these themes and reflections among students in training.

In this sense, it is sufficient to recall the mentioned “Documento de Área 2013” when it reaffirms the role of Medicine I in vocational training: The stimulating and encouraging of the conditions that promote the implementation of interdisciplinary graduate programs (academic and professional), will contribute to the advancement of the Brazilian frontiers of assistance, management, scientific production and technology 4. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. [Internet]. Diretoria de Avaliação. Documento de Área 2013. (Área de avaliação: Medicina I). Capes; 30 ago 2013 [acesso 27 mar 2015]. p. 8. Disponível: https://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacaotrienal/Docs_de_area/Medicina_I_doc_area_e_comiss%C3%A3o_att08deoutubro.pdf
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. To review with confidence the classification of the Revista Bioética signifies recognition of the essence of this commitment successfully carried out by the periodical.

Medicine II

If ethics is essential for the everyday harmony of social life, even more is expected from the professional practice of any medical specialty, which must deal with illness and death in seeking the restoration of health, promotion of life and quality of life. In this sense, the articles published in the Revista Bioética urge the different professional specialties of Medicine II not only to meet the dictates of their professional code of ethics 2323 . Conselho Federal de Medicina. [Internet]. Resolução CFM 1.931/2009. (Publicada no DOU de 24 de setembro de 2009, Seção I, p. 90; retificação publicada no DOU de 13 de outubro de 2009, Seção I, p. 173). Aprova o Código de Ética Médica. 2009 [acesso 5 maio 2015]. Disponível: http://www.portalmedico.org.br/novocodigo/integra.asp
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, but also to pursue resolutely the best ethical results in the course of clinical practice.

This occurs because the themes of the papers published in the periodical - bioethics and medical ethics - are common to any area of medicine. Neither of these can do without the ethical tools inherent to focused discussions on the values intrinsic to work processes, practices and procedures, and all need this moral framework for continuous improvement. Among these contributions, it is important to mention those related to pediatrics, specifically palliative care for the newborn premature and infant patient 2424 . Valadares MTM, Mota JAC, Oliveira BM. Cuidados paliativos em pediatria: uma revisão. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2013;21(3):486-93.

25 . Paranhos GK, Rego S. Limitação do suporte de vida pediátrico: argumentações éticas. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(3):519-28.

26 . Toma MD, Oliveira WL, Kaneta CN. Comunicação de prognóstico reservado ao paciente infantil. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(3):540-9.
-2727 . Bezerra AL, Moreno GMM, Clementino ACCR, Chagas APC, Moura IS, Silva J. Ética na decisão terapêutica em condições de prematuridade extrema. Rev. bioét. (Impr.). 2014;22(3):569-74., which contribute greatly to the understanding of the professional and the impasses and difficulties involved in their daily practice.

Considering bioethics as the irreducible counterpart of technique 2828 . Martins GZ, d’Ávila RL. Apresentação. In: Porto D, Schlemper Jr. B, Martins GZ, Cunha T, Hellman F, organizadores. Bioética: saúde pesquisa, educação. Vol. 2. Brasília: CFM/SBB; 2014. p. 7-8., it is possible to admit that in certain respects, this field of study offers support to all the specialties of the Medicine II field but, contrary to what occurs with each of them, it does not count on the strong support of the respective medical societies that promote and bolster them. If, on the one hand, each specialty has in these organs the driving force able to project specialized journals in the field in a visibly successful manner, on the other, it may not be observing with due care and consideration the efforts made in the field of bioethics, which does not enjoy the same support to follow and respond to ethical challenges arising in professional practice.

In this context, to some extent unfavorable to the recognition of the value of the journals in the field - including the Revista Bioética - it is of paramount importance that each specialty area of Medicine II can remember and recover, both for professionals in training and for their teachers, the uniqueness of the journal’s contributions, which lies mainly in its ability to propose reflection on and plural discussion of Medicine’s new and eternal challenges. To encourage reading and raise the discussion of ethics and bioethics among the professional class, the magazine also encourages interdisciplinary, quoted in “Documento de Área 2013” 2929 . Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. [Internet]. Diretoria de Avaliação. Documento de Área 2013. (Área de avaliação: Medicina II). Capes; 8 out 2013 [acesso 26 mar 2015]. Disponível: https://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacaotrienal/Docs_de_area/Medicina_II_doc_area_e_comiss%C3%A3o_att08deoutubro.pdf
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in the Medicine II evaluation area as a challenge for science in general and in medicine in particular - a challenge that needs to respond effectively to demands for resolution of new clinical problems.

Therefore, review is requested of the evaluation of the Revista Bioética in the Medicine II field in order to raise the periodical - and consequently bioethical reflection – to the same level as technical productions in the area, which will contribute greatly to coherent and sustainable professional development.

Law

The Revista Bioética fully meets the general evaluation criteria contained in the “Documento de Área 2013” 3030 . Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. [Internet]. Diretoria de Avaliação. Documento de Área 2013. (Área de avaliação: Direito). Capes; 16 out 2013 [acesso 26 mar 2015]. Disponível: http://capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacaotrienal/Docs_de_area/Direito_doc_area_e_comiss%C3%A3o_16out.pdf
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of the Law field: i) editor-in-chief; ii) editorial board; iii) ISSN registration; iv) editorial line; v) submission standards; vi) four month periodicity, which exceeds the requirement for the area; vii) peer review; viii) publishing 60 articles per volume, which also exceeds the requirements for the area; ix) affiliation of the authors; x) affiliation of the members of the editorial board; xi) titles, abstracts, keywords in Portuguese, English and Spanish; xii) the date of receipt, review and acceptance for publication of the article; xiii) 22 complete issues published previously.

Besides fulfilling all these basic criteria to be considered a scientific journal, the document for the field sets in the "Notes" section a number of requirements related to the assessment by evaluation by the double-blind system, registration with the Digital Object Identifier System (DOI), periodicity, exogeny etc. - all of them are fulfilled to the letter by the Revista Bioética, as explained. Moreover, it should be noted, the amount of items that can be directly or indirectly related to the Law field in the seven issues analyzed, which make up two full volumes plus an additional number, adds 46 works, which amounts to an average of over 19 articles by annual volume, so more than required by this assessment area.

It is also necessary to bear in mind that, as shown by the Documento de Área 2013 3030 . Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. [Internet]. Diretoria de Avaliação. Documento de Área 2013. (Área de avaliação: Direito). Capes; 16 out 2013 [acesso 26 mar 2015]. Disponível: http://capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacaotrienal/Docs_de_area/Direito_doc_area_e_comiss%C3%A3o_16out.pdf
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, since the enactment of the 1988 Federal Constitution, the Law field has been opening more and more to interdisciplinarity, which was already at the heart of the discipline from the foundation of the first legal courses in Brazil. Given the vocation of bioethics for interdisciplinary reflection, it should be noted that the contribution of the field to Law may take the form of a subjective element able to facilitate the discussion of social morality, on which will be based the legislation applied by professionals in the field of State planning. In this sense, the field of bioethics acts so as to contribute to the deepening of legal thought, to put in relief the ethical and moral dilemmas of different areas of knowledge that converge and encounter favorable ground for the debate in bioethics.

Thus, in view of the above, is requested the examination of the Revista Bioética by those involved in the area of evaluation, of, daring to suggest that its ranking is as high as the stratum of A2, given that the periodical accumulates sufficient quality to meet full criteria for that level, as can be understood from the exposition and analysis of reasons presented throughout this document.

Final Considerations

Observing the evaluation criteria of each of the areas previously broken down, it turns out that the Revista Bioética meets all the prerequisites to achieve better evaluation: this is a regular publication, produced quarterly, that meets the stringent indexing criteria of more than one institution of great standing, considering, among these requisites, aspects such as composition of the editorial staff, absence of endogeny, peer review in a double-blind system, registration in the DOI system, publication in print and online, publication in other languages, besides the faithful observation of all standardized criteria.

It is worth remembering also that the journal, besides being the only one in the country devoted specifically to the field of bioethics, managed to be indexed in prestigious international databases. This achievement imposes on it a responsibility to meet the growing demand for bioethical reflection on medical ethics and disciplines, especially bioethics training courses in medicine and other areas of health, as well as responding to and fostering the growth of the field, driven in large measure by academic post-graduate production. The improvement in the journal’s classification in these areas of of CAPES evaluation - Interdisciplinary, Teaching, Medicine I, Medicine II and Law II – will contribute much so that the journal, in the person of the editors and the editorial board, can address the challenge of spreading ethical knowledge with greater efficiency, efficacy and effectiveness.

Although it could aim at this time to also improve its grades in various nearby areas of knowledge such as Nursing, Social Service and on the subcommittees of philosophy, for example, this document focused on those areas that are shown more frequently in articles published by the journal. Nevertheless, it is suggested also that these areas cited here have their assessments reviewed, recognizing not only the obvious qualities of the journal in the mentioned disciplines, but the number of faculty and students who publish in the Revista Bioética and the number of works cited . As editors and editorial board of the Revista Bioética we believe the process of improving our classification will be able not only to stimulate the improvement of published academic production, but above all to promote the strengthening of the interface between disciplines, improving the dialogue between these areas of knowledge.

Considering, moreover, the uniqueness of the field of bioethics, not yet constituted as a subfield in CAPES, though consolidating discussion of many of them, it is observed that is exactly such anomalous circumstances that create conditions for full interdisciplinary exercise. One can then weigh the importance of the Revista Bioética in the scenario of Brazilian scientific publications: by being located on the border between fields, it can give voice to the plurality of knowledge that emerges from each one of them and allow their distinctive viewpoints to be encountered. A transformation in the condition of the not belonging discipline of bioethics into a space for the construction of interdisciplinary knowledge can be fulfilled by the CAPES evaluation areas honoring the Revista Bioética, raising their evaluation strata and recognizing fair value and merit.

The editors

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    May-Aug 2015
Conselho Federal de Medicina SGAS 915, lote 72, CEP 70390-150, Tel.: (55 61) 3445-5932, Fax: (55 61) 3346-7384 - Brasília - DF - Brazil
E-mail: bioetica@portalmedico.org.br