How to overcome barriers to publication in low- and middle-income countries: Recommendations from early career psychiatrists and researchers from around the world

Mental health research in South America: Psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees' perceived resources and barriers

As mental health issues continue to rise in Latin America, the need for research in this field becomes increasingly pressing. This study aimed to explore the perceived barriers and resources for research and publications among psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees from nine Spanish-speaking countries in South America. Data was collected through an anonymous online survey and analyzed using descriptive methods and the SPSS Statistical package. In total, 214 responses were analyzed. Among the participating psychiatrists, 61.8% reported having led a research project and 74.7% of them reported having led an academic publication. As for the psychiatry trainees, 26% reported having conducted research and 41.5% reported having published or attempted to publish an academic paper. When available, having access to research training, protected research time and mentorship opportunities were significant resources for research. Further support is needed in terms of funding, training, protected research time and mentorship opportunities. However, despite their efforts to participate in the global mental health discussion, Latin American psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees remain largely underrepresented in the literature.

An analytical framework-based pedagogical method for scholarly community coaching: A proof of concept

Working in academia is challenging, even more so for those with limited resources and opportunities. Researchers around the world do not have equal working conditions. The paper presents the structure, operation method, and conceptual framework of the SM3D Portal's community coaching method, which is built to help Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and researchers in low-resource settings overcome the obstacle of inequality and start their career progress. The community coaching method is envisioned by three science philosophies (cost-effectiveness, transparency spirit, and proactive attitude) and established and operated based on the Serendipity-Mindsponge-3D knowledge (SM3D) management framework (i.e., mindsponge thinking and Bayesian Mindsponge Framework analytics serve as the coaching program's foundational theory and analytical tools). The coaching method also embraces Open Science's values for lowering the cost of doing science and encouraging the trainees to be transparent, which is expected to facilitate the self-correcting mechanism of science through open data, open review, and open dialogue. Throughout the training process, members are central beneficiaries by gaining research knowledge and skills, acquiring publication as the training's product, and shifting their mindsets from "I can't do it" to "I can do it," and at the same time transforming a mentee to be ready for a future mentor's role. The coaching method is thus one of the members, for the member, by the members.•The paper provides the structure, operation method, and conceptual framework of the SM3D Portal's community coaching method, which is built to help Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and researchers in low-resource settings overcome the obstacle of inequality and start their career progress.•The paper presents three major science philosophies envisioning the establishment and operation of scholarly community coaching.•The paper employs the mindsponge theory and BMF analytics to construct a conceptual framework explaining how an environment is created to help shift members' mindsets from "I can't do it" to "I can do it."

Is everyone invited to the discussion table? A bibliometric analysis COVID-19-related mental health literature

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has captured the mental health discussion worldwide. Examining countries' representation in this discussion could prove instrumental in identifying potential gaps in terms of ensuring a truly global conversation in times of global crisis.

METHODS

We collected mental health and COVID-19-related journal articles published in PubMed in 2020. We focused on the corresponding authors' countries of affiliation to explore countries' representation. We also examined these articles' academic impact and correlations with their corresponding authors' countries of affiliation. Additional journals and countries' indicators were collected from the Web of Science and World Bank websites, respectively. Data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics and the VOSviewer software.

RESULTS

In total, 3492 publications were analyzed. Based on the corresponding author, high-income countries produced 61.9% of these publications. Corresponding authors from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East combined accounted for 11.8% of the publications. Europe hosted corresponding authors with the most publications and citations, and corresponding authors from North America had the largest mean journal impact factor.

CONCLUSIONS

The global scientific discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic saw an increased contribution of academics from developing countries. However, authors from high-income countries have continued to shape this discussion. It is imperative to ensure the active participation of low- and middle-income countries in setting up the global mental health research agenda, particularly in situations of global crisis, such as the ongoing pandemic.