Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30409223›Full record

ArticleGlobalization and health2018

Research trends on human trafficking: a bibliometric analysis using Scopus database.

Waleed M Sweileh

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Globalization and health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
23.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 161 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
  4. A review of extant literature and recent trends in residential construction waste reduction.Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA · 2025
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  11. Addressing human trafficking as a public health issue.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2022
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Waleed M SweilehDepartment of Physiology, Pharmacology/Toxicology, Division of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine. waleedsweileh@yahoo.com.
An-Najah National University · PS

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHuman trafficking is a crime against humanity. It is also a serious threat to global health and security. Globalization has made human trafficking an easier task for the criminal organizations. No data are available on the volume, research trends, and key players in this field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the research activity and research trends on human trafficking.

methodsA bibliometric method was adopted. Literature published in academic journals indexed in Scopus database was retrieved. The study period was set from 2000 to 2017.

resultsTwo thousand forty-four documents were retrieved. The average number of authors per document was 1.9. Over one third (n = 771; 37.7%) of the retrieved documents were about sex trafficking, 616 (30.1%) were about labor trafficking/forced labor, 199 (9.7%) were about child trafficking, and 138 (6.8%) were about organ trafficking. One third (n = 707; 34.6%) of the documents were in health-related fields while 1526 (74.7%) were in social sciences and humanities. The USA ranked first (n = 735; 36.0%) regarding the number of published documents. Geographic distribution of the retrieved document showed that world regions with a high prevalence of human trafficking had the least research contribution. International research collaboration has a limited contribution to the retrieved literature. The Harvard University (USA) was the most active institution (n = 39; 1.9%). International Migration (n = 35; 1.7%) was the most active journal in publishing documents on HT. Documents published in Transplantation journal received the highest number of citations per document (25.5) and two of the most cited documents were about organ trafficking.

conclusionThere was an under-representation of health-related literature on human trafficking. Literature on sex trafficking dominated the field of human trafficking. Research networks and research collaboration between the source and destination countries is important. Future research plans need to focus on health issues and on exploited/trafficked laborers.

Indexed as

Human TraffickingBibliometricsBiomedical ResearchDatabases, BibliographicHumansBibliometricsGlobal healthHuman traffickingResearch analysis

Identifiers

PMID30409223
PMCPMC6225706
OpenAlexW2899718577

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.