Representation of authors and editors from countries with different human development indexes in the leading literature on tropical medicine
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《英国医生杂志》
1 Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA, 2 Swiss Tropical Institute, PO Box, CH-4002 Basle, Switzerland
Correspondence to J Keiser jennifer.keiser@unibas.ch
Abstract
Editorial boards
Table 1 summarises the current geographical affiliations, ranked by human development index, of all 315 members of editorial and advisory boards from the 12 tropical medicine journals currently referenced by the ISI. Overall, 223 (70.8%) of all board members are from countries with a high human development index. Only 16 (5.1%) board members are affiliated with countries with a low index; eight of them are on the boards of only two journals (Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, n = 4; Annals of Tropical Paediatrics, n = 4). Five of the journals do not have any representatives from a country with a low human development index on their boards, and three have only one representative. With the exception of the Brazil based Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (n = 35), only 41 members of the remaining journals have affiliations to countries with a medium index, most notably on International Journal of Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases (n = 9), Tropical Doctor (n = 7), and Annals of Tropical Paediatrics (n = 7). For journals that not only have an editorial but also an advisory board (table 1) the composition of the boards is more geographically balanced than for journals with only an editorial board (such as Annals of Tropical Paediatrics). Except for the editorial office of the Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, all other ISI referenced tropical medicine journals are based in the United States (n = 2) or in Europe (n = 9), particularly in the United Kingdom (n = 7).
Table 1 Characteristics of all 12 tropical medicine journals that are referenced by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI)
Author representation according to human development index
We examined 2384 articles published in the six highest ranking journals on tropical medicine in 2000-2. Single authored publications were rare (6.8%, n = 162). The median number of authors per article is five, and the maximum number of coauthors on a single paper was 35.
Table 2 presents the geographical affiliations of authors according to the human development index. Overall the proportion of authors affiliated with countries with a high human development index is 48.1% (range 38.6% (Leprosy Review) to 55.9% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene)). The proportions of first and last authors from countries with a high index are even higher, namely 50.6% (range 40.2-59.8%) and 58.8% (range 46.9-66.5%), respectively. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology had the lowest percentages of first and last authors from countries with a high index, and the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene had the highest percentages. We observed a positive trend between the percentages of first, last, and all authors from countries with a high human development index with the impact factor of a journal.
Table 2 Country affiliations as classified by the human development index of all, first, and last authors of all full articles published in 2000-2 in the six leading tropical medicine journals. Source ISI Web of Science
The percentages of authors from countries with a low human development index range from as low as 6.1% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) to a maximum of 26.0% (Tropical Medicine and International Health). They decrease to 4.5% and 22.0% for these two journals respectively if only the first authors, and to 4.1% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) and 15.2% (Leprosy Review) if only the last authors are considered.
Table 3 shows the current extent of research collaborations between countries with different rankings on the human development index and the number and percentage of articles from countries with the same rankings. The percentage of articles published exclusively by authors from countries with a low index ranges from 1.7% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) to 7.7% (Leprosy Review). In contrast, far higher proportions of authors from countries with a high index have published their work exclusively in leading tropical medicine journals, from 20.9% (Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology) at the low end of the scale to 35.9% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) at the high end. Over the investigated period of three years we found a high percentage of articles originating exclusively from countries with a medium index (33.3% for Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology and 33.5% for Leprosy Review).
Table 3 Extent of research collaborations between countries with different rankings on the human development index. Values are numbers (%) of articles
What is already known on this topic
Strengthening of research capacity from developing countries is essential to reduce inequities in health
Few scientists from countries with a low human development index serve on editorial and advisory boards of leading international journals
Authors from countries with a low development index are under-represented in numerous research fields (for example, general medicine)
What this study adds
An imbalance of international representation exists among editorial and advisory boards of the ISI referenced journals on tropical medicine
Only 1.7-7.7% of the articles published in the six leading tropical medicine journals in 2000-2 were generated exclusively by scientists from countries with a low human development index
International research collaborations (mainly between a country with a low or medium human development index and Europe or the United States) are common in tropical medicine
Collaborations should be transformed into research partnerships to enhance mutual learning and institutional capacity building
The total proportion of research collaborations between countries with different human development indexes ranges from 25.2% (Leprosy Review) to 60.3% (Tropical Medicine and International Health) of all full articles. Research collaborations between authors from countries with a high and medium index were more common (26.5%) than between authors from countries with high and low indexes (16.1%). Research collaborations between authors either from countries with all three rankings or from countries with medium and low indexes were uncommon, at 1.9% and 0.4%, respectively.
The way forward
Horton R. Medical journals: evidence of bias against the diseases of poverty. Lancet 2003;361: 712-3.
Saxena S, Levav I, Maulik P, Saraceno B. How international are the editorial boards of leading psychiatry journals? Lancet 2003;361: 609.
Patel V, Sumathipala A. International representation in psychiatric literature: survey of six leading journals. Br J Psychiatry 2001;178: 406-9.
Mendis S, Yach D, Bengoa R, Narvaez D, Zhang X. Research gap in cardiovascular disease in developing countries. Lancet 2003;361: 2246-7.
Yach D, Kenya P. Assessment of epidemiological and HIV/AIDS publications in Africa. Int J Epidemiol 1992;21: 557-60.
Ezzati M, Lopez AD, Rodgers A, Vander Hoorn S, Murray CJM. Comparative risk assessment collaborating group. Selected major risk factors and global and regional burden of disease. Lancet 2002;360: 1347-60.
Sitthi-Amorn C, Somrongthong R. Strengthening health research capacity in developing countries: a critical element for achieving health equity. BMJ 2000;321: 813-7.
Harris E, Tanner M. Health technology transfer. BMJ 2000;321: 817-20.
Smith R. Publishing research from developing countries. Stat Med 2002;21: 2869-77.(Jennifer Keiser, research)
Correspondence to J Keiser jennifer.keiser@unibas.ch
Abstract
Editorial boards
Table 1 summarises the current geographical affiliations, ranked by human development index, of all 315 members of editorial and advisory boards from the 12 tropical medicine journals currently referenced by the ISI. Overall, 223 (70.8%) of all board members are from countries with a high human development index. Only 16 (5.1%) board members are affiliated with countries with a low index; eight of them are on the boards of only two journals (Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, n = 4; Annals of Tropical Paediatrics, n = 4). Five of the journals do not have any representatives from a country with a low human development index on their boards, and three have only one representative. With the exception of the Brazil based Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (n = 35), only 41 members of the remaining journals have affiliations to countries with a medium index, most notably on International Journal of Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases (n = 9), Tropical Doctor (n = 7), and Annals of Tropical Paediatrics (n = 7). For journals that not only have an editorial but also an advisory board (table 1) the composition of the boards is more geographically balanced than for journals with only an editorial board (such as Annals of Tropical Paediatrics). Except for the editorial office of the Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, all other ISI referenced tropical medicine journals are based in the United States (n = 2) or in Europe (n = 9), particularly in the United Kingdom (n = 7).
Table 1 Characteristics of all 12 tropical medicine journals that are referenced by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI)
Author representation according to human development index
We examined 2384 articles published in the six highest ranking journals on tropical medicine in 2000-2. Single authored publications were rare (6.8%, n = 162). The median number of authors per article is five, and the maximum number of coauthors on a single paper was 35.
Table 2 presents the geographical affiliations of authors according to the human development index. Overall the proportion of authors affiliated with countries with a high human development index is 48.1% (range 38.6% (Leprosy Review) to 55.9% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene)). The proportions of first and last authors from countries with a high index are even higher, namely 50.6% (range 40.2-59.8%) and 58.8% (range 46.9-66.5%), respectively. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology had the lowest percentages of first and last authors from countries with a high index, and the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene had the highest percentages. We observed a positive trend between the percentages of first, last, and all authors from countries with a high human development index with the impact factor of a journal.
Table 2 Country affiliations as classified by the human development index of all, first, and last authors of all full articles published in 2000-2 in the six leading tropical medicine journals. Source ISI Web of Science
The percentages of authors from countries with a low human development index range from as low as 6.1% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) to a maximum of 26.0% (Tropical Medicine and International Health). They decrease to 4.5% and 22.0% for these two journals respectively if only the first authors, and to 4.1% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) and 15.2% (Leprosy Review) if only the last authors are considered.
Table 3 shows the current extent of research collaborations between countries with different rankings on the human development index and the number and percentage of articles from countries with the same rankings. The percentage of articles published exclusively by authors from countries with a low index ranges from 1.7% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) to 7.7% (Leprosy Review). In contrast, far higher proportions of authors from countries with a high index have published their work exclusively in leading tropical medicine journals, from 20.9% (Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology) at the low end of the scale to 35.9% (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) at the high end. Over the investigated period of three years we found a high percentage of articles originating exclusively from countries with a medium index (33.3% for Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology and 33.5% for Leprosy Review).
Table 3 Extent of research collaborations between countries with different rankings on the human development index. Values are numbers (%) of articles
What is already known on this topic
Strengthening of research capacity from developing countries is essential to reduce inequities in health
Few scientists from countries with a low human development index serve on editorial and advisory boards of leading international journals
Authors from countries with a low development index are under-represented in numerous research fields (for example, general medicine)
What this study adds
An imbalance of international representation exists among editorial and advisory boards of the ISI referenced journals on tropical medicine
Only 1.7-7.7% of the articles published in the six leading tropical medicine journals in 2000-2 were generated exclusively by scientists from countries with a low human development index
International research collaborations (mainly between a country with a low or medium human development index and Europe or the United States) are common in tropical medicine
Collaborations should be transformed into research partnerships to enhance mutual learning and institutional capacity building
The total proportion of research collaborations between countries with different human development indexes ranges from 25.2% (Leprosy Review) to 60.3% (Tropical Medicine and International Health) of all full articles. Research collaborations between authors from countries with a high and medium index were more common (26.5%) than between authors from countries with high and low indexes (16.1%). Research collaborations between authors either from countries with all three rankings or from countries with medium and low indexes were uncommon, at 1.9% and 0.4%, respectively.
The way forward
Horton R. Medical journals: evidence of bias against the diseases of poverty. Lancet 2003;361: 712-3.
Saxena S, Levav I, Maulik P, Saraceno B. How international are the editorial boards of leading psychiatry journals? Lancet 2003;361: 609.
Patel V, Sumathipala A. International representation in psychiatric literature: survey of six leading journals. Br J Psychiatry 2001;178: 406-9.
Mendis S, Yach D, Bengoa R, Narvaez D, Zhang X. Research gap in cardiovascular disease in developing countries. Lancet 2003;361: 2246-7.
Yach D, Kenya P. Assessment of epidemiological and HIV/AIDS publications in Africa. Int J Epidemiol 1992;21: 557-60.
Ezzati M, Lopez AD, Rodgers A, Vander Hoorn S, Murray CJM. Comparative risk assessment collaborating group. Selected major risk factors and global and regional burden of disease. Lancet 2002;360: 1347-60.
Sitthi-Amorn C, Somrongthong R. Strengthening health research capacity in developing countries: a critical element for achieving health equity. BMJ 2000;321: 813-7.
Harris E, Tanner M. Health technology transfer. BMJ 2000;321: 817-20.
Smith R. Publishing research from developing countries. Stat Med 2002;21: 2869-77.(Jennifer Keiser, research)