ArticleSAGE open medicine2020
Disparity in biomedical publication trends in the CARICOM countries: Is there a need for a more vibrant research culture in the region?
Article in SAGE open medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mapping evidence on maternal metabolic conditions and child neurodevelopment in the Caribbean: a scoping review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Latin American Obstetrics and Gynecology. What is Up with the Journals?Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBiomedical research and publications provide evidence-based information about the extent and burden of health-related problems of a country and help to formulate strategic and operational plans to tackle the problems. PURPOSE: To determine the biomedical publication rates of CARICOM full member countries.
methodsBiomedical publications of full member CARICOM countries were retrieved using PubMed (1990-2015) and SCImago Journal & Country Rank (1996-2015) databases. CARICOM countries having >50 publications in the PubMed (1990-2015) database were subject to further analysis, whereby publications of each country were adjusted by total population (million population), gross domestic product (billion-dollar), and Internet usage rate (hundred thousand population).
resultsTotal publications by all countries were 7281 and 8378 in PubMed and SCImago Journal & Country Rank, respectively. Jamaica produced highest number of publications (PubMed: 3928 (53.9%); SCImago Journal & Country Rank: 2850 (34.0%)). In both databases, Grenada had the highest research publications when adjusted with per million population (4721 and 10,633), per billion gross domestic product (803 and 1651), and per hundred thousand Internet users (1487 and 3387). Trend analysis revealed Jamaica produced the highest number of additional PubMed listed publications each year, averaging 4.8/year, followed by Trinidad and Tobago (4.4). According to SCImago Journal & Country Rank, Jamaica also had the highest number of citations (42,311) and h-index (76), followed by Trinidad and Tobago (29,152 and 71). Barbados had the highest number of citations per document (24.9), followed by Haiti (18.4). The publication rates determined by PubMed and SCImago Journal & Country Rank databases were significantly correlated (p < 0.001). Most publications (68% SCImago Journal & Country Rank and 85% PubMed) can be attributed to authors affiliated with Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad.
conclusionPublication and citation rates varied markedly between CARICOM countries and were in general low. Most publications could be attributed to researchers affiliated with The University of the West Indies. More universities valuing biomedical research are needed in the region, and more resources needed to improve publication rates.
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Registered trials
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.