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Ravi K, Bentounsi Z, Tariq A, Brazeal A, Daudu D, Back F, Elhadi M, Badwi N, Shah SSNH, Bandyopadhyay S, Khalil H, Kimura H, Sekyi-Djan MN, Abdelrahman A, Shaheen A, Mbonda Noula AG, Wong AT, Ndajiwo A, Souadka A, Maina AN, Nyalundja AD, Sabry A, Hind B, Nteranya DS, Ngugi DW, de Wet E, Tolis EA, Wafqui FZ, Essangri H, Moujtahid H, Moola H, Narain K, Ravi K, Wassim K, Odiero LA, Nyaboke LS, Metwalli M, Naisiae M, Pueschel MG, Turabi N, El Aroussi N, Makram OM, Shawky OA, Outani O, Carides P, Patil P, Halley-Stott RP, Kurbegovic S, Marchant S, Moujtahid S, El Hadrati S, Agarwal T, Kidavasi VA, Agarwal V, Steyn W, Matumo W, Fahmy YA, Omar Z, Amod Z, Eloff M, Hussein NA, Sharma D. Systematic analysis of authorship demographics in global surgery. BMJ Glob Health 2021; 6:bmjgh-2021-006672. [PMID: 34666988 PMCID: PMC8527109 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Global surgery has recently gained prominence as an academic discipline within global health. Authorship inequity has been a consistent feature of global health publications, with over-representation of authors from high-income countries (HICs), and disenfranchisement of researchers from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this study, we investigated authorship demographics within recently published global surgery literature. Methods We performed a systematic analysis of author characteristics, including gender, seniority and institutional affiliation, for global surgery studies published between 2016 and 2020 and indexed in the PubMed database. We compared the distribution of author gender and seniority across studies related to different topics; between authors affiliated with HICs and LMICs; and across studies with different authorship networks. Results 1240 articles were included for analysis. Most authors were male (60%), affiliated only with HICs (51%) and of high seniority (55% were fully qualified specialist or generalist clinicians, Principal Investigators, or in senior leadership or management roles). The proportion of male authors increased with increasing seniority for last and middle authors. Studies related to Obstetrics and Gynaecology had similar numbers of male and female authors, whereas there were more male authors in studies related to surgery (69% male) and Anaesthesia and Critical care (65% male). Compared with HIC authors, LMIC authors had a lower proportion of female authors at every seniority grade. This gender gap among LMIC middle authors was reduced in studies where all authors were affiliated only with LMICs. Conclusion Authorship disparities are evident within global surgery academia. Remedial actions to address the lack of authorship opportunities for LMIC authors and female authors are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krithi Ravi
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Zineb Bentounsi
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Aiman Tariq
- National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi, Pakistan
| | | | - Davina Daudu
- The University of Western Australia Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Francesca Back
- University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Nermin Badwi
- Zagazig University Faculty of Human Medicine, Zagazig, Egypt.,InciSioN Egypt, Zagazig, Egypt
| | | | | | - Halimah Khalil
- Birmingham Medical School, University of Birmingham College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Birmingham, UK
| | | | | | | | - Ahmed Shaheen
- Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria, Egypt
| | | | - Ai-Ting Wong
- Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | | | - Amine Souadka
- National Institute of Oncology, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
| | | | | | | | - Bourja Hind
- Ibn Rochd University Hospital Center, Casablanca, Morocco
| | - Daniel Safari Nteranya
- Department of Surgery, Official University of Bukavu, Bukavu, Congo.,Association of Future African Neurosurgeons, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | | | - Elsa de Wet
- University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | | | - F Z Wafqui
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Casablanca, Morocco
| | - Hajar Essangri
- National Institute of Oncology, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Hajar Moujtahid
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Husna Moola
- University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Kapil Narain
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa
| | - Krupa Ravi
- University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division, Oxford, UK
| | - Kyrillos Wassim
- Cairo University Kasr Alainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
| | | | | | | | - Maryanne Naisiae
- University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences, Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - Nafisa Turabi
- Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College and Hospital, Jabalpur, India
| | - Nouhaila El Aroussi
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Omar Mohamed Makram
- Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, October 6 University, 6th of October City, Egypt.,London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London, UK
| | - Omar A Shawky
- Cairo University Kasr Alainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Oumaima Outani
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Peter Carides
- University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa
| | | | | | - Sabina Kurbegovic
- Medical Faculty, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | | | - Sara Moujtahid
- Ibn Sina University Hospital Center, Rabat, Morocco.,Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Soukaina El Hadrati
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
| | | | | | | | - Wilme Steyn
- Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Bertsham, South Africa
| | | | | | - Zaayid Omar
- Rondebosch Medical Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Zachary Amod
- University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Madelein Eloff
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa
| | | | - Dhananjaya Sharma
- Department of Surgery, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College and Hospital, Jabalpur, India
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