2025: a year in summary, and expectations for 2026

Abstract

2025 was a year of both consolidation and expansion for the Impact Health Publishing Group (https://impact-journals.org). Alongside continued growth of our flagship Impact Surgery, we launched Impact Case Reports and Impact Public Health, extending the group’s scope across clinical outcomes, systems, and implementation research. Looking ahead to 2026, the group will embark on the journey of formal registrations with the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and PubMed Central. These steps are essential for long-term credibility and visibility, but they also carry substantial operational costs. As a result, and in the interest of transparency, we anticipate the introduction of an author publication charge at that stage, complemented by ethical sponsorship and advertising. Our commitment is to deliver what we describe as the “EasyJet experience” for authors: a reliable, efficient, and professional publishing process, at a lower cost than premium journals, without compromising editorial standards or integrity.