In a CMAJ editorial, John Fletcher states that the bread and butter of an academic journal is disseminating science,1 which is also an ethical imperative of researchers and academics who contribute to the processes of peer review for scientific publications. Some journals give their peer reviewers free access to their journals as a token of thanks, but how frequently is this policy practised?2 And what about reviewers who already have institutional access to many journals? Perhaps they could donate their complimentary journal subscriptions to others who might find subscriptions more useful (i.e., those in low-or middle-income countries).
We surveyed several editors of high-impact subscription-based journals (14 general medical and 7 nursing or disability) to determine whether they provided reviewers with complimentary journal access and, if so, whether reviewers were allowed to donate these subscriptions to others (See Appendix, available at www.cmaj.ca/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1503/cmaj.112-2056/-/DC1). Of the 21 journals, 20 were members of the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI), the World Health Organization’s program that provides free or low-cost online journal access in the developing world.3 However, only three journals gifted reviewers with free journal access (BMJ and Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability for 12 months and The Lancet for 3). Only BMJ and The Lancet allowed reviewers to donate these subscriptions to others.
Health care workers in low-income countries may not have institutional affiliations, and people from middle-or high-income countries (e.g., Singapore) may not qualify for HINARI, but frequently cannot afford journal subscriptions.4 We believe that more journals should provide peer reviewers with free subscriptions that could be donated to others.