South African Medical Journal

Aims & Scope

The SAMJ is a monthly peer reviewed, internationally indexed, general medical journal.

It carries The SAMJ is a monthly, peer-reviewed, internationally indexed, general medical journal publishing leading research impacting clinical care in Africa.

The Journal is not limited to articles that have ‘general medical content’, but is intending to capture the spectrum of medical and health sciences, grouped by relevance to the country’s burden of disease.

This will include research in the social sciences and economics that is relevant to the medical issues around our burden of disease The journal carries research articles and letters, editorials, clinical practice and other medical articles and personal opinion, South African health-related news, obituaries, general correspondence, and classified advertisements (refer to the section policies for further information).

Metrics & Ranking

Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
• Web of Science
• Embase

Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Medicine, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

Licensing & Copyright

This journal operates under an Open Access model. Articles are freely accessible to the public immediately upon publication. The content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing users to share and adapt the work with proper attribution.

Copyright remains with the author(s), and no permission is required for non-commercial use, provided the original source is cited.

Policy Links

This section provides access to essential policy documents, guidelines, and resources related to the journal’s publication and submission processes.

• Aims scope
• Homepage
• Oa statement
• Author instructions
• License terms
• Review url
• Board url
• Copyright url
• Plagiarism url
• Apc url
• License

Plagiarism Policy

This journal follows a plagiarism policy. All submitted manuscripts are screened using reliable plagiarism detection software to ensure originality and academic integrity. Authors are responsible for proper citation and acknowledgment of all sources, and any form of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, will not be tolerated.

For more details, please refer to our official: Plagiarism Policy.

APC Details

The journal’s Article Processing Charge (APC) policies support open access publishing in Medicine, ensuring accessibility and quality in research dissemination.

This journal requires an Article Processing Charge (APC) to support open access publishing, covering peer review, editing, and distribution. The current APC is 7,440.00 ZAR. Learn more.

Explore journals without APCs for alternative publishing options.

Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• Long-COVID: An evolving problem with an extensive impact

  Citation: 155

  Authors: M, J, L, S A, M, W, F W D

• Stem cell therapy for neurological disorders

  Citation: 108

  Authors: M, O, K, M S

• Impact of COVID-19 on routine primary healthcare services in South Africa

  Citation: 97

  Authors: Y, S, P, T

• Antibiotic prescribing practice and adherence to guidelines in primary care in the Cape Town Metro District, South Africa

  Citation: 69

  Authors: J, M, B

• A longitudinal perspective on violence in the lives of South African children from the Birth to Twenty Plus cohort study in Johannesburg-Soweto

  Citation: 62

  Authors: L M, S, J, E

• Self-reported alcohol use and binge drinking in South Africa: Evidence from the National Income Dynamics Study, 2014 - 2015

  Citation: 59

  Authors: N G, C P

• Closing the gaps to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT) in South Africa: Understanding MTCT case rates, factors that hinder the monitoring and attainment of targets, and potential game changers

  Citation: 59

  Authors: A, W, N K, K, S, U, N, M, O, T, F, G

• Mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak: A rapid scoping review to inform provincial guidelines in South Africa

  Citation: 56

  Authors: L J, I, H, O

• Child mortality in South Africa: Fewer deaths, but better data are needed

  Citation: 54

  Authors: L J, N H, P, Y

• Reducing neonatal deaths in South Africa: Progress and challenges

  Citation: 53

  Authors: N, S, G S, S, P