Historical development and characteristics of the scientific production of the bahia journal of nursing

Abstract

Objective: To describe the historical development and present the characteristics of the scientific production of the Revista Baiana de Enfermagem from 1981 to 2017. Material and Method: Descriptive analytical study uses historical research and bibliometric technique to validate and show the processes involved during the study period. The data were obtained from the records of the Nursing College of the Universidade Federal da Bahia, and from the journal’s physical and electronic collection. Results: Journal timeline elaboration, with the first edition published in 1981 during the 35th anniversary commemoration of the School of Nursing of the Federal University of Bahia, which historical moment reflected the school’s desire to contribute to the advancement of scientific production of nursing. During the period, 671 articles were published, showing linear growth in the number of records (R² = 0.5472). The documents corresponded to original articles (64.38%; n= 432) among other types, and presented a mainly qualitative approach. The journal published, primarily, articles from the northeastern region of Brazil, indicating its regional character and its main thematic area of nursing from several perspectives. Conclusion: The journal has been an important instrument for scientific dissemination of national nursing, especially for the northeastern region, and has advanced in the indexation within international databases. The linear growth in the number of published articles is an evidence of the editorial management progress and reflects the social, political and economic changes in Brazil.