Editorial
The Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica (Pró-Fono Scientific Actualization Journal) originated from a dream. Since the beginning of our professional career, we noticed the lack of scientific literature in Brazil. We had just concluded the translation of the book Auditory Disorders, sold to Editora Atheneu, which already showed our concern to provide Brazilian readers with access to cutting-edge knowledge and the best of scientific literature. However, knowledge cannot be contained only in books; when we began collating the scientific developments (knowledge) generated by the Brazilian Audiology and Speech Therapy Association, we felt the absence of the space that our efforts deserved. In that sense, our dream materialized and scientific contributions began to pour in gradually, as articles in scientific journals.
In 1989, bearing this idea in mind, we at the company Pró-Fono Produtos Especializados para Fonoaudiologia launched the Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. One of our main concerns was to provide an indexed publication in which articles could be searched (located) easily. Therefore, since its first volume, we submitted the Journal for indexing in the database Latin American Literature and Caribbean (LILACS), which was established in 1990.
The first Editorial, by Professor Fabio Schmidt Goffi, the then director of Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, said, "The advances in technology have resulted in notable contributions to the biological sciences, and the progress of science is such that after 5 years, around 50% of the current scientific knowledge becomes obsolete. In such a situation, constant and regular reviewing of scientific notions and practices is necessary so that the specialist can be kept updated. If books and compendiums are vital for acquiring a basic knowledge of an academic discipline, journals are needed for the dissemination of recently developed ideas, since journals renew and actualize what's in the handbooks".
Thus, Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica developed, and in 1998, we began the process of indexing our journal in the National Library of Medicine. This led to the challenge of increasing the quantity and quality of annual articles in the Journal. In 2004, this indexing became effective, a breakthrough for Brazilian Audiology and Speech Therapy, celebrated by all.
The development of this Journal is documented and can be shown by the many indexing processes through its 22 years of existence:
1990 - LILACS Database - Caribbean and Latin American Literature in Health Science;
2000 - Database CSA - Cambridge Scientific Abstracts;
2003 - CECAE SACI USP Database - Executive Coordination (Board) of University and Special Activities Cooperation - Solidarity, Support, Communication and Information - University of São Paulo;
2004 - Index Medicus and MEDLINE, PubMed;
2005 - Capes Periodics Portal - Coordination of Superior Level Personal Improvement;
2005 - SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online;
2008 - Scopus - a database created by Elsevier.
Credit for the above must be given to all the people involved in the process of this scientific production. These include the journal's authors and the following pairs: Dr. Dinah Aguiar Población, who was responsible for General Scientific Communication, constantly motivated us and enabled us to improve the periodic publications; the executive editor, Heliane Campanatti-Ostiz, who has managed the editorial process of this Journal since its foundation in 1989; the two tireless Editors in Chief, Dr. Maria Valeria Schmidt Goffi Gomez, who led the scientific direction of the Journal from 1989 to 2001, and Dr. Prof. Claudia Regina Furquim, who assumed this responsibility in 2001.
Undoubtedly, the Journal has carried on for 22 years owing to the innumerable hours of dedicated effort put in by all departments involved in the process of publishing, since the careful receiving of manuscripts, going through analysis of form and contain. We thank the members of the Editorial Board and our Editorial team especially the speech therapists, Dirce Capobianco and Fabíola Staróbole Juste, as well as Helenice Campanatti and Luciano Neves de Carvalho, who have been working continually for years at these complex editorial tasks. We also thank the researchers and professionals who believed in Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica, and who agreed to write the first articles. We would also like to thank the members of the first editorial board, Elisa Bento de Carvalho Altmann, José Alexandre Medicis da Silveira, Ney Penteado de Castro Junior, Silvia Rabelo Pinho and Yasuko Imasato Ito, who kindly agreed to review the manuscripts. Here, it can be noticed the concern of this Journal with professionalism which, since its foundation, value and respect the revision by its pairs.
Finally, we also acknowledge the financial support provided by CNPq since 2001, which was instrumental in helping Pró-Fono reach its 22nd year.
The results of all the above efforts and contributions can be seen today. The Journal is the only one in our area to have been indexed in the Index Medicus and MEDLINE, PubMed databases. It is quite gratifying to state that our dreams and love for our profession gave birth to Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica, and helped it develop, and that our perseverance and efforts made it prosper.
This is a time of change. Every growth is made of many steps, many challenges. Although the Pró-Fono Produtos Especializados para Fonoaudiologia will continue with its activities, the Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica will be succeeded by the Sociedade Brasileira de Fonoaudiologia - SBFa.
We are honored to hand over the Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica to Sociedade Brasileira de Fonoaudiologia, and hope that the current President, Dr. Mara Behlau, and his successors, succeed in leading the Journal to be recognized by Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and ISI Web of Knowledge. The JCR offers an objective mean of evaluation of journals all over the world with quantified information based on the number of quotations. By compiling articles and authors cited in them, the JCR can measure the influence and impact of studies. Recognition by the JCR can help our publication, which reports national scientific developments, obtain the international visibility it deserves.
We are confident that our scientific society will continue to live up to the memory of Audiology and Speech Therapy... Now follows a new impulse...
We hope that in the future, the words of Professor Goffi in our first Editorial will remain true: "Let the Journal have an uninterrupted, useful and prophicous existence".
Heliane Campanatti Ostiz
Founder of Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização
Científica and President of Pró-Fono
M. Valeria Schmidt Goffi Gomez
Founder and Emerita Editor of Pró-Fono
Revista de Atualização Científica
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
02 May 2011 -
Date of issue
Mar 2011
