Research Productivity in the Health Sciences in Saudi Arabia: 2008-2017

Medical magnetic resonance imaging publications in Arab countries: A 25-year bibliometric analysis

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is increasingly becoming a cornerstone in modern diagnostic healthcare, offering unparalleled capabilities in stroke, dementia, and cancer screening. Therefore, this study aims to map medical MRI literature affiliated with Arab countries, focusing on publication trends, top journals, author affiliations, study countries, and authors' collaboration, and keyword analysis. The scientific database used is the Scopus database. Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer software, and Biblioshiny for the Bibliometrix R package are the bibliometric tools used in this analysis. A total of 2592 publications were published between 1988 and 2022, with total citations of 22,115. Most of them were original articles (91,7%) and 89.9% were published in traditional journals. The number of total publications exhibited a steady increase over time, whereas total citations showed fluctuations, peaking in 2015 with 1571 citations for publications from that year. The most cited article was authored by Yaseen M. Arabi, receiving 286 citations. Saudi Arabia was the top active country. In addition, the most prolific author was Maha S Zaki, and the most prolific source was the "Egyptian Journal of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine". The most prolific affiliation was Cairo University. The "multiple sclerosis" and "case report" were the most trending keywords. The analysis revealed a significant growth in MRI research inside Arab countries, as shown by an increase in the total number of publications and international collaborations. Despite these developments, the results of this study suggest that there is still room for MRI research in the Arab region to advance. This can be achieved through increasing international collaboration and multidisciplinary work.

Cancer Research Challenges and Potential Solutions in Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Discussion Group Study

PURPOSE

Cancer incidence in Saudi Arabia has recently shown an upward trend. Research efforts within the different cancer continuum are pivotal to strengthening control measures. Since cancer research is evolving in the country, it is crucial to understand the current challenges and implement defined interventions to overcome them. The present qualitative study aimed to assess cancer research barriers among researchers and identify potential solutions from their perspectives.

METHODS

We conducted a focus group discussion among 17 Saudi-based cancer researchers from diverse research backgrounds, provinces, and institutions. We used descriptive-interpretive thematic analysis following an open-ended approach to investigate the challenges in conducting cancer research. We also captured the solutions suggested based on the researchers' experiences.

RESULTS

Six major themes emerged from the analysis: requirements of the data landscape, organizational support, national research roadmap, sustainable funding, clearer policies and regulations, and capacity building. To address challenges in these areas, researchers stressed the need for improved interinstitutional collaborations, immediate availability of research materials, and unlimited and easy access to research data.

CONCLUSION

Improving health research is one of the primary goals of Saudi Vision 2030. It is, therefore, essential to overcome the current challenges in cancer research, enabling research findings to inform policies related to cancer control and care provision.

Gender Variation, subject dispersion and citation impact in dental research: A bibliometric analysis of publications from 2009-2021

Aim

This study probed into the gender variation, subject dispersion and citation impact of dental research with an objective to highlight the increasing influence of female authors in the field of dentistry.

Methodology

The research employed bibliometric techniques to highlight gender variation in dental research as demonstrated in the Saudi Dental Journal (SDJ), over a period of thirteen years, 2009-2021. The examination comprised SDJ publications indexed in PubMed, with citation data extracted from Google Scholar on July 2023. The analysis encompassed the progressive growth of papers, authors, and citations, the gender distribution of authors, the co-authorship structure, subject dispersion, and collaboration patterns based on affiliation, both national and international.

Results

625 SDJ publications were identified in the PubMed database from 2009 to 2021. There was a notable rise in the volume of papers and the number of authors per year. The citation impact analysis revealed that these 625 papers achieved an average of 26 citations each. Remarkably, the representation of female authors increased from 0.47 to 2.23 authors per paper during the study period. The authorship pattern largely showed single-authorship, closely followed by a three-author pattern. Almost half the papers (48%) were a collaboration between male and female authors, with female authors solely producing about 15% of papers.The topological classification of papers revealed that the most considerable number of papers were on Periodontics, with the least number focusing on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Female authors prominently contributed to Pediatric Dentistry and Periodontics papers.

Conclusion

The study illustrates an encouraging trend of heightened female authorship in dental research over the years. Their increasing engagement not only enriches the academic diversity but also impacts the progressive evolution of dental science, contributing to a more inclusive and balanced society.

Barriers to Conducting and Publishing Scientific Research Among Nursing Faculty Members in Saudi Arabia

Objective

Publication in highly indexed journals is a complicated process that requires research skills, including writing, conceptualizing, and communication skills, to appropriately verbalize the findings. The current study assessed the barriers faced by nursing faculty at Saudi universities in conducting scientific research and publishing in highly indexed journals.

Methods

This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Data were collected through convenience sampling by sending an online questionnaire to faculty members at Saudi universities. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first part for the demographic characteristics of staff and another part for the barriers associated with conducting scientific research and the publication process in highly indexed journals. The data was analyzed by SPSS using descriptive statistics as frequencies and percentages and inferential statistics using Chi Square test.

Results

The study included 152 participants, mainly female (70.4%) aged 30-40 years (73.7%). Most were non-Saudi (90.1%), attended government universities (82.9%), and specialized in Medical & Surgical Nursing (29.6%). Only 3.9% received publishing training, whereas 55.9% had been published in indexed journals. Barriers included difficulties following guidelines, lack of research-writing knowledge, language challenges, and financial constraints. Gender, age, university, qualifications, and training courses influenced these barriers.

Conclusion

The identified barriers included lack of training, language-related challenges, and work pressures. This study emphasizes the importance of providing support, resources, and training opportunities to overcome these barriers and enhance research productivity in the nursing field.

Development of Nursing Research in Saudi Arabia: Implications for Policies and Practice

Background: Nursing research in Saudi Arabia can be evaluated based on productivity as well as the quality of publications. The scope of scientific inquiry in nursing research expands to include clinical, health system, and outcome-based research, education, and administration. Aim: The purpose of this article is to track the development of nursing research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Design: Systematic review. Methods: This study used keywords, databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PubMed to search for published articles on nursing in Saudi Arabia. The search resulted in the identification of 681 publications, from which 360 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Results: The highest percentage of studies (56.7% of articles) focused on nursing clinical practice, and 76.0% of the studies were conducted in a hospital setting, followed by an educational setting. Most of the studies were quantitative and non-funded. More than 50.0% of the studies were first authored by Saudi scholars. Conclusions: This study concluded that nursing research in Saudi Arabia is still in its infancy, with notable improvements in the last 5 years. This correlated with an increasing number of nurses holding postgraduate degrees. With the Saudi government's strong support, the number of scientific research papers published on Saudi nursing has steadily increased over the last year.

A Bibliometric Study on the Top 101 Most-Cited Articles of Dental Journals of the Middle East/North Africa Countries From 2011 to 2021

Introduction: This retrospective descriptive study evaluated the Scopus-indexed dental journals and their most-cited documents affiliated with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries from 2011 to 2021. Methods: Dental journals affiliated with MENA countries, their bibliometric indicators (SJR, CiteScore, SNIP, and H-index), and the 101 most cited articles of the considered journals were extracted and studied through descriptive statistics. In addition, the "citation per year" of each top 101 articles was calculated. Spearman's rho test was used for pairwise comparisons of the correlation coefficient values between each two of the considered bibliometric indicators. Results: The number of citations of the 101 most-cited papers ranged from 35 to 203. The mean (SD) citations of studied articles were 61.33 (37.58) and the median was 46. Furthermore, CiteScore had the highest significant correlation with SJR (r=0.828, P˂0.001). Moreover, the citation per year of the top 101 documents had no significant relationship with any of the journals' bibliometric indicators. Conclusion: Because journal performance and citation rate are multi-dimensional concepts, a single metric cannot express them thoroughly despite correlations between indices. "European Journal of Dentistry" from Turkey, "Saudi Dental Journal" from Saudi Arabia, and "Iranian Endodontic Journal" and "Journal of Lasers in Medical Sciences" both from Iran had the highest ranks in the SCImago portal and the highest scores in bibliometric indices amongst the MENA dental journals.

Research in family medicine: Contribution, priorities, and barriers in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Research in family medicine is important. The objectives of this study were to explore the contribution of family physicians, their attitudes and practice, and the barriers to research in family medicine in Saudi Arabia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was conducted on Saudi family physicians in 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to family physicians through WhatsApp and email. Information sought included demographic data, scientific profile, number of publications, reasons for conducting research, barriers to the conduct of research, attitudes and skills for the conduct of research, and priority areas of research. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 15. Descriptive statistics included mean and standard deviation for continuous variables and frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. Student's t-test was used to compare the means of two groups of physicians. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed to determine the association between categorical variables.

RESULTS

A total of 313 family physicians filled the questionnaire; majority were male (65%), were married (90%), and worked under the Ministry of Health (73%). The total number of publications since graduation was 1165 papers with an average of 3.8 papers per physician. More than 70% were interested in conducting research, and more than two-thirds considered research important to the advancement of family medicine. One-third of the family physicians were currently involved in conducting research, while 30% were supervising at least one research project. The top five areas of priority were chronic diseases, mental health, health promotion, quality of healthcare, and medical education/training; whereas the top five obstacles to the conduct of research were the lack of time, lack of research environment, lack of financial and technical support, and the absence of skills.

CONCLUSION

Saudi family physicians make a good contribution to research. The researchers and research bodies should focus on identifying the priority areas for research in family medicine in the next few years and provide support to achieve some of the objectives of the National Vision of 2030.

Contribution of Saudi Neurosurgeons to the International Neurosurgical Literature: a Bibliometric Analysis of Trends Over the Last Three Decades

This review is a bibliometric analysis of the contribution of neurosurgeons from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to the international neurosurgical literature over the last three decades. The study aimed at determining changes in publication trends over time and assessing the impact of these changes on citation numbers. All publications in the PubMed-indexed neurosurgical journals that were authored by at least one Saudi neurosurgeon were selected. The articles were divided into two study groups according to publication year whether during the last decade (2011- 2020) or the previous two decades (1991- 2010). Changes in publication trends were determined by comparing the bibliometric characteristics of the articles in both groups. The impact of the changes on citation numbers was assessed by correlating the annual citation rates for the articles with their bibliometric qualities. A total of 352 publications were suitable for the review (200 articles published during 2011- 2020, and 152 during 1991- 2010). Temporal changes in the publishing journals and first authors' centres and regions were observed. The articles that were published in the last decade were associated with a significantly higher annual publication rate, a greater number of authors, centres, and countries, and a larger sample size compared to those published in the previous two decades. They also had a lower percentage of Saudi total and first authorship as well as a smaller proportion of case reports. The annual citation rate was significantly impacted by the duration from publication, sample size, and study type during both study periods. However, only during the last decade, the annual citation rate was positively influenced by the journal's impact factor, number of authors, centres, countries, and percentage of Saudi authorship. We conclude that KSA neurosurgeons' contribution to international neurosurgical journals had increased considerably over the last decade. The publications were authored by neurosurgeons from a wider range of centres and regions than in the past. A bigger portion of publications had become more multi-authored, multi-centred, and multi-national as well as reported larger sample sizes and lesser rates of case reports. The changes in publication trends correlated positively with the articles' annual citation rates. The findings could be considered encouraging.

A mixed-method analysis to identify the current focus, trends, and gaps in health science research in Saudi Arabia

Background

The identification of current gaps in high-impact medical research in Saudi Arabia has international significance due to the trend of collaborative research in the field of health and medicine and the focus on knowledge-sharing. The purpose of this study is to assess the current focus, gaps, and priorities in health research in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

We employed a mixed-method research approach to achieve research objectives. (1) a systematic review of scientific research studies that are published between January 2020 to January 2022 in the top fifty Q1 medical science journals (2) a cross-sectional survey collected data from professionals employed in various organizations including the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Education (MoE), health organizations and universities, and the health industry. The close-ended survey questions inquired about the broad and specific areas of ongoing health research projects by these researchers and organizations in Saudi Arabia.

Results

The literature search on databases identified Science Direct (n = 741), Pub Med (n = 244) and Google Scholar (n = 15,600). After screening, (n = 26) original studies were selected for detailed evaluation and synthesis. Among these (n = 7) studied infectious diseases, (n = 7) cancer, and cardiac disease (n = 5). These studies focused on the etiology, treatment management and therapy outcomes of these health conditions. The survey was completed by (n = 384) respondents from these organizations. Most of the ongoing research projects focus on clinical sciences (27%) followed by basic sciences (24%) and public health research (24%) and a limited number of researchers were involved in healthcare management (2%) and informatics (2%). Most research focused on kidney and liver disorders (80%), obesity (74%), diabetes (74%), hormonal diseases (64%), and infectious disease (66%); it is equally important to design and fund research in some of the neglected areas including reproductive health (3%), physical and mental disabilities (1%).

Conclusion

Findings suggest that current gaps in original research from Saudi Arabia are in healthcare service quality, reproductive health, physical and mental disabilities and health informatics. Researchers and funding agencies and international collaborative projects should prioritize these areas.

The landscape of biomedical research progress, challenges and prospects in Saudi Arabia-A systematic review

Introduction

The main objective of this review was to synthesize the progress, challenges and prospects of biomedical research in Saudi Arabia in order to provide a holistic view to all stakeholders, such as policy makers, decision makers, and local researchers along with external collaborators interested in the field of biomedical research in this region.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted using the scientific literature for bibliometric studies in the field of biomedical research in Saudi Arabia that comprehensively covered past few decades using PubMed. The search was performed by combining verified Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms: "biomedical research", "bibliometrics", "Saudi Arabia" using boolean operator "AND". The data collection was done from January to June 2022 by both authors.

Results

Out of 202 articles yielded from initial search, 13 articles met all of the inclusion criteria and were examined in details. The outcome of analysis showed that with the augmentation of Research and Development (R&D) globalization in Saudi Arabia, researchers are publishing internationally and collaborating globally, academic and research centers are enriching research environment and policies, and government is taking many initiatives to bolster biomedical research; but still more improvements needs to be achieved by Saudi Arabia to be in the list of strong competitive leading nations in the global biomedical research field.

Conclusions

There were various key challenges related to biomedical publications and bibliometric aspects for Saudi Arabia that included: publishing preferences, quality of publications, indexing services, international scientific community, and importantly barriers related to planning, funding, training, resources and support at institutional and national levels. This review provided some insights and recommendations to enhance biomedical research in Saudi Arabia that included: effective policies, health priorities, building infrastructures, greater investments, high incentives, skilled recruitment, competitive training and engagement of community that can play a vital role in this context.

Recent trends in dental research in Saudi Arabia: Mapping review (2010–2020)

Objectives

To map Saudi-affiliated dental research productivity by institution, managing sector, geographical region, collaboration pattern, study design, dental specialty, time course, publication source, authorship, and funding during 2010–2020.

Methodology

A systematic search strategy was followed to retrieve data from the Web of Science and MEDLINE/PubMed databases. The study included only articles published in English between 2010 and 2020 by authors affiliated with Saudi dental institutions. Data screening and extraction from full-text articles were performed independently by the two authors. The kappa coefficient was >0.8. Descriptive statistics were calculated, including frequency and percentage. The chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables. Statistical significance was set at a p-value of 0.05.

Results

A total of 1,899 articles were included. The greatest research activity was in the Riyadh region (47%). The most productive corresponding institution was King Saud University (29%). National collaborations between sectors represented 24% of publications, and multiple collaborations accounted for 33%. Endodontics showed the highest levels of collaboration between sectors (33%). The most frequent study designs were cross-sectional (51%) and laboratory experimental (19%), while case-control, cohort, and qualitative studies were among the least common. The most productive years were 2018 and 2019, and the average annual growth rate of research productivity was 21%. Implant dentistry showed the fastest growth rate. Total publications and local collaborations increased remarkably during the second half of the decade. Restorative dentistry was the most funded specialty (18%). There were statistically significant associations between study design, dental specialty, and funding (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

This bibliometric analysis provides insight into the trends of Saudi-affiliated dental research. Based on our findings, more effective local collaboration between authors, institutions, and sectors; better funding planning for high-quality research; and more research conducted in less well-investigated dental specialties are recommended.

Achievements and Visibility of Scientific Publications of All Peruvian Medical Schools: A 5-Year Scientometric Analyses

Objective

To evaluate the bibliometric profile of the national academic production of public and private medical schools in Scopus after the publication of a new university law (2015–2020).

Methods

A descriptive bibliometric study was conducted. The secondary data corresponding to the 42 Peruvian medical schools that had scientific publications in Scopus from 2015 to 2020 were evaluated, and the Affiliation ID of each Peruvian institution was considered. Data were analysed using SciVal.

Results

The total production of the Peruvian medical schools was 5406 manuscripts (100%), of which 3018 (56%) were included in the ‘clinical medicine' category. The total production of publications in Peru from 2015 to 2020 was 21597 manuscripts, of which medical publications accounted for 7950, with only 5406 manuscripts belonging to the Faculties of Medicine of Peru. The Peruvian Journal of Experimental Medicine and Public Health had published the highest number of manuscripts (500 articles), with an approximate publication citation of two.

Conclusion

There was a constant increase in the scientific production of Peruvian medical schools from 2015 to 2020. Additionally, it was found that medical publications contribute the most to the total scientific production of Peru.

Published Research on COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Bibliometric Analysis (Preprint)

Background

The challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to unprecedented global research activity. The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) continues to contribute to COVID-19 research driven by the unique challenges of the region, including the protracted conflicts, already stressed health systems, and serious health and social inequalities.

Objective

This study aims to provide an overview of the publication activities and trends in COVID-19 research in the EMR from the onset of the disease to early 2022 using bibliometric methods.

Methods

A literature search using Scopus was conducted from December 1, 2019, to January 31, 2022, using keywords relevant to COVID-19 and the World Health Organization (WHO) EMR country list. Data were exported and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and the Citation Overview function on Scopus. The quality of journals was determined using SCImago Journal Rank and CiteScore. VOSviewer software was used to visualize the relationships between authors, countries, and key terms used in the retrieved documents.

Results

A total of 6880 documents were retrieved, of which 1805 (26.24%) were from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and 1782 (25.90%) from Iran, followed by Pakistan, Egypt, and Jordan. Most published documents were affiliated with EMR universities, primarily the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran and King Saud University in KSA (396/6880, 5.76%, and 370/6880, 5.4%, respectively), while only 407 (5.92%) of 6880 documents were associated with universities outside the EMR. For most of the identified publications (5020/6880, 72.97%), no funding source was reported, while King Saud University contributed the largest share (282/1860, 15.16%) of funded publications. Retrieved documents were cited 53,516 times, with an average of 7.78 (SD 34.30). Iran was the EMR country with the most links to other countries (77 links and total link strength of 1279). The 5 authors with the most publications were from KSA, Qatar, and Jordan. There were 290 high-frequency keywords that occurred ≥10 times and were linked in 7 different clusters. The cluster with the most linked keywords was related to epidemiology and mortality. Recent topics included vaccines, vaccination, machine learning, and online learning.

Conclusions

This is the first study to show trends in and project future developments of COVID-19 research activity in the EMR. Authors and institutions who led research on COVID-19 in the region were from Iran and KSA. There were multiple regional collaborative efforts; however, international collaboration was limited. Recently, interest has been shifting toward topics related to vaccination, machine learning, and online learning. Understanding the current state of research is instrumental to future research production, and our study will inform regional research initiatives on emerging concepts, as well as opportunities for collaboration and funding.

Library and information science research in the Arab World: a bibliometric analysis 1951–2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the research productivity of library and information science (LIS) authors affiliated with the 22 countries of the Arab League. It also identifies the top countries, organizations, authors, journals, natures of collaboration, and frequently used keywords in LIS research in the Arab world.

Design/methodology/approach

Bibliometric methods were used to evaluate the research performance of the authors affiliated with library organizations in the Arab region. The Elsevier Scopus database was selected for data retrieval. A comprehensive search strategy was adopted to retrieve 863 publications contributed by LIS authors affiliated with the Arab countries. VOS viewer, Biblioshiny, BiblioAnalyitics, Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel were used for data visualization and analysis.

Findings

This paper presents the dynamics and the state of the LIS research in the Arab region published between 1951 and 2021. The results of the study have highlighted an upward trend in the growth of the publications, especially in the past four years. The largest number of studies were published in the year 2020. The country-wise analysis ranked Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as the top LIS research producing countries with five and four researchers, respectively. The Kuwait University, the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and the Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University were the three most productive organizations. Academic libraries, social media, bibliometrics, information-seeking behavior, information literacy and knowledge management were identified as the major areas of interest for the researchers. Internet and open access were topics that had gained recent popularity, while the digital library, research data management, green librarianship, link data, cloud computing, library leadership, library automation and artificial intelligence were identified as areas requiring further attention. Furthermore, the single-author pattern was found to be the most preferred pattern.

Practical implications

The findings of this study would help prospective researchers in choosing the neglected areas of research that require further investigation. They would also help policymakers in identifying factors that need more attention and allocation of research funds.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first comprehensive bibliometric study that presents a holistic picture of the LIS research in the Arab region.

Journal of Family and Community Medicine: A scientometric analysis 1994-2020

The Journal of Family and Community Medicine (JFCM) is a peer-reviewed open access journal published by the Saudi Society of Family and Community Medicine. This review is aimed to analyze the scientometric attributes of manuscripts published over 27 years from 1994 to 2020 using scientometric technique. The bibliographic records of manuscripts published from 1994 to 2020 were retrieved from the Web of Science and Medline-PubMed databases. The data were analyzed by using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Biblioshiny software. A total of 648 manuscripts were included; these were written by 1442 authors, with an average of 2.22 authors per manuscript and 24 manuscripts per year. All manuscripts gained 2,693 citations with a mean ratio of 4.15 citations per manuscript. All the top-20 contributing authors belonged to Saudi Arabia, and 48% of the manuscripts were in the single-author pattern; the multiauthored manuscripts received a higher ratio of citations. The review highlighted the most contributing institutions and countries.Bibliographic coupling of countries, institutions, keywords co-occurrence, and co-citation of journals were also presented. The JFCM is an important journal of Saudi Arabia that has provided a platform to family medicine researchers to share their scholarly and scientific communication for the past 27 years. Over the years, the frequency and number of publications in the journal have improved. Although the journal has received manuscripts from all over the world, most contributions were from Saudi Arabia.

Understanding the study habits of Saudi residents in a psychiatry programme

OBJECTIVES

Understanding the way psychiatry residents select, consume, and prioritise their educational resources during their psychiatry residency programme is essential. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Saudi psychiatry residents' study habits during their residency training.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 150 Saudi psychiatry residents were invited to complete an anonymous survey with 18 close-ended statements. The responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale. The survey included items about study volume, motivational factors, study resources, study methods, and overall satisfaction with training.

RESULTS

We received responses from 121 residents. There were more men (57.9%) than women (42.1%). A larger percentage of residents studied between two and five hours per day (30.6%). A larger proportion of residents did not agree that the psychiatry residency programme had some degree of protected time prior to their board exams (42.2%). The most crucial motivating factor for their study was the final board exam; 28.1% and 35.5% of residents ranked this factor as highly and very highly motivating, respectively. The most useful study resources were books such as Kaplan, Oxford, and Oral Board materials.

CONCLUSION

Our study is the first of its kind that provides insight into the study habits of Saudi psychiatry residents. The information can be used to improve the quality of training and medical education of psychiatry residents.

Barriers to research productivity among gastroenterologists and hepatologists in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Clinical research is essential for the advancement of medical knowledge and evidence-based medical practice. In this study, we aimed to identify barriers that limit research productivity among gastroenterologists in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

We conducted a national online survey targeting gastroenterologists in Saudi Arabia. Participants were asked about the patterns of their practice, their prior research activities, and potential barriers to research productivity. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the association between different factors and research productivity.

RESULTS

A total of 85 gastroenterologists completed the survey. Respondents were predominantly male physicians (90.6%) and 40% of them belonged to the age group of 40-49 years. About 85.9% had at least one prior research participation of any type. Around 67.1% of the respondents had been a primary investigator at least once in the last 5 years, while only 23.5% had been a primary investigator at a minimum average rate of once a year. Multiple barriers to research productivity were identified: insufficient research time (78.8%), lack of funding and compensation (77.6%), lack of a statistician (68.2%), insufficient research training (64.7%), lack of connection (60%), lack of technical support (57.6%), and lack of interest (31%). On univariate analysis, insufficient research time and lack of funding and compensation were significantly associated with no research participation (P <0.01 and 0.03, respectively). On multivariate analysis, lack of funding and compensation was independently associated with no research participation (adjusted OR 15.32;95% C.I 2.66, 121.58, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Barriers to research productivity are highly prevalent among gastroenterologists in Saudi Arabia. Insufficient research time and lack of funding and compensation are the most common. Interventions are needed to promote research activities.

Bibliometric analysis of road traffic injuries research in the Gulf Cooperation Council region

Background: Despite governmental interventions, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region continues to experience higher road traffic crash and fatality rates relative to Western nations. This trend suggests a potential disconnect between Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) research and the mitigation measures put in place. Method: Here, we present an in-depth bibliometric analysis to obtain a comprehensive understanding of RTI research in the GCC region. The Web of Science database was used to search and retrieve the relevant articles during the period of 1981-2019. Results: The volume of RTI research increased from 2015-2019, suggesting an increased focus on traffic safety in the GCC region. Saudi Arabia had the highest RTI research productivity level (126 publications); Bahrain had the lowest (7 publications). Inconsistent with its low publication volume, Hammad Medical Corps of Qatar had the highest citation impact score of 16.33. Global collaboration for RTI research was highest between Saudi Arabia and the United States. The most prevalent publication journal for the region was Accident Analysis and Prevention. The most common keywords were " road traffic accidents" and " road traffic injuries"; terms such as " mobile phones", " pedestrian safety", " pedestrians", and " distracted driving" were least common. In the five most productive GCC nations with respect to RTI research (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman), researchers tended to publish works related to road traffic safety in traffic safety-oriented journals. Conclusions: The quantity and quality of RTI publications in GCC is insufficient to meet the increasing related public health and economic burden in the region. The trends among publication volumes, citations, and impact were inconsistent. There is a lack of research collaboration among the institutions. Most of the research related to RTI is being conducted by researchers with a medical background. Research focusing on pedestrians, cyclists and road user behavior is also inadequate.

Bibliometric analysis of road traffic injuries research in the Gulf Cooperation Council region

Background: Despite governmental interventions, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region continues to experience higher road traffic crash and fatality rates relative to Western nations. This trend suggests a potential disconnect between Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) research and the mitigation measures put in place. Method: Here, we present an in-depth bibliometric analysis to obtain a comprehensive understanding of RTI research in the GCC region. The Web of Science database was used to search and retrieve the relevant articles during the period of 1981-2019. Results: The volume of RTI research increased from 2015-2019, suggesting an increased focus on traffic safety in the GCC region. Saudi Arabia had the highest RTI research productivity level (126 publications); Bahrain had the lowest (7 publications). Inconsistent with its low publication volume, Hammad Medical Corps of Qatar had the highest citation impact score of 16.33. Global collaboration for RTI research was highest between Saudi Arabia and the United States. The most prevalent publication journal for the region was Accident Analysis and Prevention. The most common keywords were " road traffic accidents" and " road traffic injuries"; terms such as " mobile phones", " pedestrian safety", " pedestrians", and " distracted driving" were least common. In the five most productive GCC nations with respect to RTI research (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman), researchers tended to publish works related to road traffic safety in traffic safety-oriented journals. Conclusions: The quantity and quality of RTI publications in GCC is insufficient to meet the increasing related public health and economic burden in the region. The trends among publication volumes, citations, and impact were inconsistent. There is a lack of research collaboration among the institutions. Most of the research related to RTI is being conducted by researchers with a medical background. Research focusing on pedestrians, cyclists and road user behavior is also inadequate.