RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS RESEARCH IN AFGHANISTAN: BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS WITH THE DATABASE PUBMED

Authors

  • Florian H Pilsczek Department of Medicine, Royal Rattanak Hospital, Phnom Penh

Abstract

Background: Infectious diseases research in a low-income country like Afghanistan is important. Methods: In this study an internet-based database Pubmed was used for bibliometric analysis of infectious diseases research activity. Research publications entries in PubMed were analysed according to number of publications, topic, publication type, and country of investigators. Results: Between 2002–2011, 226 (77.7%) publications with the following research topics were identified: respiratory infections 3 (1.3%); parasites 8 (3.5%); diarrhoea 10 (4.4%); tuberculosis 10 (4.4%); human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 11(4.9%); multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDR) 18(8.0%); polio 31(13.7%); leishmania 31(13.7%); malaria 46(20.4%). From 2002–2011, 11 (4.9%) publications were basic science laboratory-based research studies. Between 2002–2011, 8 (3.5%) publications from Afghan institutions were identified. Conclusion: In conclusion, the internet-based database Pubmed can be consulted to collect data for guidance of infectious diseases research activity of low-income countries. The presented data suggest that infectious diseases research inAfghanistan is limited for respiratory infections research, has few studies conducted by Afghan institutions, and limited laboratory-based research contributions.Keywords: Infectious diseases, Bibliometrics, Research, Low-income Countries, Afghanistan

References

Wallace MR, Hale BR, Utz GC, Olson PE, Earhart KC, Thornton SA, et al. Endemic infectious diseases of Afghanistan. Clin Infect Dis 2002;34:S171–207.

Singh M, Qureshi MA, Aram GN, Hadi F, Atif SY, Adel SS, et al. Morbidity and mortality in childhood in Afghanistan: a study of 40 492, consecutive admissions to the Institute of Child Health, Kabul. Ann Trop Paediatr 1983;3(1):25–30.

Hossain MS, Gresock J, Edmonds Y, Helm R, Potts M, Ramakrishnan N. Connecting the dots between PubMed abstracts. PLoS One 2012;7(1):e29509.

Uthman OA. Pattern and determinants of HIV research productivity in sub-Saharan Africa: bibliometric analysis of 1981 to 2009 PubMed papers. BMC Infect Dis 2010;10:47.

Durando P, Sticchi L, Sasso L, Gasparini R. Public health research literature on infectious diseases: coverage and gaps in Europe. Eur J Public Health 2007;17(Suppl 1):19–23.

Takahashi-Omoe H, Omoe K, Okabe N. New journal selection for quantitative survey of infectious disease research: application for Asian trend analysis. BMC Med Res Methodol 2009;9:67.

Feachem RG, Graham WJ, Timaeus IM. Identifying health problems and health research priorities in developing countries. J Trop Med Hyg 1989;92(3):133–91.

Gessner BD. Mortality rates, causes of death, and health status among displaced and resident populations of Kabul, Afghanistan. JAMA 1994;272(5):382–5.

Morikawa MJ, Schneider S, Becker S, Lipovac S. Primary care in post-conflict rural northern Afghanistan. Public Health 2011;125(1):55–9.

Choudhry VP, Fazal I, Aram G, Choudhry M, Arya LS, Torpeki MS. Pattern of preventable diseases in Afghanistan: suggestions to reduce the morbidity and mortality at IGICH. Indian Pediatr 1989;26(7):654–9.

Prasad AN. Disease profile of children in Kabul: the unmet need for health care. J Epidemiol Community Health 2006;60(1):20–3.

Ramos JM, Padilla S, Masia M, Gutierrez F. A bibliometric analysis of tuberculosis research indexed in PubMed, 1997-2006. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2008;12(12):1461–8.

Osei-Atweneboana MY, Lustigman S, Prichard RK, Boatin BA, Basanez MG. A research agenda for helminth diseases of humans: health research and capacity building in disease-endemic countries for helminthiases control. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2012;6(4):e1602.

Flack JM, Nasser SA, Levy PD. Therapy of hypertension in African Americans. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs 2011;11(2):83–92.

Moher D, Pham B, Lawson ML, Klassen TP. The inclusion of reports of randomised trials published in languages other than English in systematic reviews. Health Technol Assess 2003;7(41):1–90.

Published

2015-06-20