A decade of Ecuador´s efforts to raise its health research output: a bibliometric analysis

Sisa, Iván; Abad, Andrea; Espinosa, Isabel; Martinez-Cornejo, Isaac; Santos, Pablo Burbano

doi:10.1080/16549716.2020.1855694

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The main focus of these OARPs were in the clinical-surgical area. This trend has been previously reported in a bibliometric analysis conducted in Ecuador that analyzed all health sciences-related publications from 1999 to 2017 (Sisa et al, 2021). A possible explanation is that longitudinal studies demand more financial, time, and logistical resources than observational studies.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Studiessupporting

confidence: 69%

“…A publication was eligible if it satisfied the following criteria: (i) its topic was related to the older population (60 years and older), (ii) it was conducted/executed in Ecuador, (iii) it contained all the pre-specified study variables, and (iv) it was published during the period of 2008 to 2018. We choose this period of time for the following reasons: (i) a previous bibliometric study had explored the characteristics and trends of Ecuadorian health science production from 1999 to 2009 (Sisa et al, 2011); (ii) Ecuador during the governmental period of 2007 to 2017 tried several initiatives in the Healthcare and Higher Education sector (Sisa et al, 2021); and (iii) since 2008 Ecuador has engaged in a comprehensive reform of its health care system due to a new constitution (Friederic & Burke, 2019). We excluded duplicate papers and publications that did not involve humans subjects.…”

Section: Search Strategy and Selection Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Knowledge Gaps in Health Care Research in Older Adults in Ecuador: Policy Challenges and Opportunities

Sisa

Rodríguez

2021

Ageing Int

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Older adults historically have been excluded from biomedical research, especially in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to assess the scientific production of older adults-related publications (OARPs) in Ecuador and uncover research gaps to inform health and aging policy. A Scopus search was performed to retrieve OARPs published from 2008 to 2018. Bibliometric indicators studied included the number of publications per year, study design, research focus, and research lines. A total of 121 OARPs were retrieved. Sixty-four articles (~ 53%) were excluded. Overall, the most common study designs were cross-sectional and casecontrol studies, 84.2% (n = 48) and 8.8% (n = 5), respectively. The primary research focus was in the clinical-surgical area (~ 51%), and the most prevalent research lines were in the epidemiology of older-related diseases (35%) and causes of olderrelated diseases (26.3%). Across the analyzed period, we were not able to find studies related with aging policy, and we found only one OARP dedicated to diagnosis/ treatment and provision of geriatric services, respectively. Ecuadorian OARPs were scarce during the last decade, providing limited evidence to address health priorities of the local older population and to inform health policy making. Improving research on the older population would provide valuable inputs to key stakeholders to perform evidence-based policy development that ultimately will improve quality of life and long-term health outcomes in Ecuador and other LMICs.

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Section: Comparison With Other Studiessupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Search Strategy and Selection Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge Gaps in Health Care Research in Older Adults in Ecuador: Policy Challenges and Opportunities

Sisa

Rodríguez

2021

Ageing Int

Self Cite

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“…Biomedical research in Ecuador has traditionally been scarce and mostly of a descriptive observational type, until the last decade where an exponential increase in scientific production is evident ( 16 , 22 , 23 ). This increase, we believe, is mainly due to the effect that the LOES has had on the country’s higher education system through the creation of The Council for the Evaluation, Accreditation, and Quality Assurance of Higher Education (CEAACES) in 2011 ( 16 , 22 ). The CEAACES designed an evaluation model for both public and private universities, one of the parameters being “research” with a weight of 21% of the overall evaluation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the literature, only two bibliometric analyses have addressed this issue, and their main findings are that during the last decade, scientific production related to health sciences in Ecuador showed an exponential growth. However, this increase has been at the expense of a decrease in the quality of the evidence generated through cohort and randomized clinical trial studies, and with no relation to the main causes of mortality in the Ecuadorian population ( 15 , 16 ). The weaknesses of these previous studies are the short period of time analyzed and the possibility of missed publications due to the use of a single database (Scopus).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One hundred years of Ecuadorian biomedical scientific output and its association with the main causes of mortality: a bibliometric study

Sisa,

Caicedo-Potosí,

Cordovez

et al. 2024

Front. Med.

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IntroductionHistorically, low-and middle-income countries have been scarce producers of biomedical research; only 2% of the global scientific output is produced by these countries despite accounting for 92% of the global burden of disease. In addition, few low-and middle-income countries have exhaustively mapped and analyzed their scientific production in health and its association with main local burden of disease.ObjectiveTo evaluate the evolution of biomedical research in Ecuador over the last 100 years and its relationship with the main causes of mortality.MethodsA bibliometric study embedded in a systematic review design was carried out using biomedical publications indexed in Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) during the period 1920–2021. Information from the National Institute of Statistics and Census was used to identify the main causes of mortality.ResultsOur search strategy identified 16,697 publications related to biomedicine in Ecuador. Of these 3,225 articles met the criteria for this study. Since 2010, there has been an exponential increase in scientific production in biomedicine. This increase was predominantly based on cross-sectional observational studies (49.67%). During the period analyzed (1920–2021), biomedical production was distributed with 52.43% in clinical research, 37.79% in public health, and 9.77% in basic sciences. The research focus with the highest number of publications was epidemiology and surveillance system of diseases (23.44%). Additionally, private universities are the largest producers of biomedical research compared to public universities, 40.12% vs. 19.60%, respectively. Of the total biomedical research produced, 18.54% is associated with the main causes of mortality, and the Ecuadorian private university is the largest contributor to these studies compared to public universities, 39.97% vs. 16.72%.ConclusionIn one century, Ecuador produced 3,225 articles in biomedicine, according to our criteria. 18.54% of the total produced is aimed at solving the main causes of mortality in the country. Private universities are the leaders in scientific production related to health in Ecuador.

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“…Therefore, 10.3389/feduc.2023.1093083 a publication in Q2 received a high score of.75 regardless of whether the SRJ was in the upper or lower limit (i.e., prestigious) of the quartile of a specific discipline or category of knowledge. If researchers depend on scarce or private resources (Sisa et al, 2021), scientific production would be published in lower-quality journals or journals without an impact factor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of government evaluation and accreditation processes on the research output of universities in developing countries: an X-ray of the young Ecuadorian academia

Gutiérrez

Yaguarema²,

Ayala³

et al. 2023

Front. Educ.

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Ecuador is a unique case study, where strict evaluation and accreditation processes have been recently established (i.e., early-2010s) mainly based on the experience of their peers and that of developed countries. Interestingly, the development of quality assurance indicators for research output received special attention. The current study systematically explored the research output of the Ecuadorian higher education institutions (HEIs) after only one decade of being subjected to multiple rigorous evaluation and accreditation processes. Peer-reviewed documents in the Scopus Database from 2006 to 2021 were statistically analyzed in terms of the number of documents produced (i.e., books, book chapters, journals, and conference proceedings), citations, H-index, quartiles, and impact factors (i.e., SRJ, SNIP, and Cite Score), at both country and single-university levels. The influence of the multiple evaluation processes and external factors (e.g., relaxation of regulations, COVID) on the research output trends were comprehensively and chronologically discussed. Accordingly, a statistical answer to the following research questions was attempted: where is the Ecuadorian research output currently standing after these evaluation and accreditation measures? Furthermore, where is it heading? This investigation would assist in creating and adjusting policies targeting sustainable research in HEIs in Ecuador and other countries in similar early research development.

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A decade of Ecuador´s efforts to raise its health research output: a bibliometric analysis

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

Knowledge Gaps in Health Care Research in Older Adults in Ecuador: Policy Challenges and Opportunities

Knowledge Gaps in Health Care Research in Older Adults in Ecuador: Policy Challenges and Opportunities

One hundred years of Ecuadorian biomedical scientific output and its association with the main causes of mortality: a bibliometric study

Impact of government evaluation and accreditation processes on the research output of universities in developing countries: an X-ray of the young Ecuadorian academia

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