Bibliometric analysis of scientific publications on “sustainable development goals” with emphasis on “good health and well-being” goal (2015–2019)

Abstract

Background Global progress in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires significant national and international research efforts and collaboration. The current study aimed to provide policymakers, academics, and researchers with a snapshot of global SDGs-related research activity. Method This was a cross-sectional descriptive bibliometric study. SciVerse Scopus was used to retrieve SDGs-related research publications for the period from 2015 to 2019. Results In total, 18,696 documents were found. The Sustainability journal ranked first ( n = 1008; 5.4%) in the number of SDGs-related publications. The World Health Organization was the most active institution in publishing SDGs-related documents ( n = 581; 1.3%). Most of the retrieved documents belonged to SDG 17 (partnership) followed by SDG 13 (climate action), and SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), while SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) had the least number of publications. The European region ( n = 9756; 52.2%) had the highest research contribution while the Eastern Mediterranean region ( n = 1052; 5.6%) had the least contribution. After exclusion of SDG 17, the SDG 3 (good health and well-being) was the top researched SDG for the African region, the Eastern Mediterranean regions, and the South-Eastern Asian region. For the region of the Americas, European region, and the Western Pacific region, the SDG 13 (climate action) was the most researched. The SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) was the least researched in the African region, the region of the Americas, the European region, and the South-East Asian region. In the Eastern Mediterranean region, SDG 10 (reduced inequality) was the least researched while in the Western Pacific region, SDG 5 (gender inequality) was the least researched. The most researched targets of SDG 3 were targets 7 (sexual and reproductive health services) and 8 (universal health coverage) while the least researched targets were 5 (substance use disorders) and 9 (death from hazardous materials). International research collaboration within SDG 3 between high- and low-income countries was inadequate. Conclusion The analysis presented in the current study are useful for researchers, institutes, governments, funding agencies, and policy-makers. Countries in Africa, the Middle East, and South-East Asia need to increase their funding and research collaboration in the field of SDGs.

Unveiling the Research Landscape of Sustainable Development Goals and Their Inclusion in Higher Education Institutions and Research Centers: Major Trends in 2000–2017

“…This is not a surprise since this goal has a central role in the achievement of sustainable development (Pettigrew et al, 2015), and Biomedical Research is one of the largest research areas covered in Web of Science (Mongeon and Paul-Hus, 2016). In any case, our results are in agreement with (Körfgen et al, 2018;Sweileh, 2020), and as pointed out by previous studies, SDG3 "Good Health" was found to have a higher share of synergies with other SDGs in most countries (Pradhan et al, 2017). The MDGs, experience has shown that without improvements in health systems performance, progress on the goals was both limited and potentially unsustainable (Seidman, 2017).…”

“…The proposal of the different SDGs in 2005 together with Agenda 2030 has led to the creation of a path of collective national and international awareness toward sustainability. One of the main features of SDGs is their increasing relevance not only for policy makers, who are encouraging sustainability-oriented policies, but also for the scientific community as a whole (Kajikawa et al, 2007;Sweileh, 2020). This study presents an empirical scientometric analysis of M&SDGs research, and the role of HEIs in its development.…”

Mapping Collaborations and Partnerships in SDG Research

“… Bemke-Świtilnik et al (2020) examined collaboration trends in sustainable mining, and their results show increases in both the number of co-authored publications and in the average number of co-authors per article. At the country level, Sweileh (2020) found increased co-authored publications across all SDGs, though this varied by geographic region.…”

“…Other SDGs that dominated the overall retrieved literature included: SDGs of poverty (SDG 1), health (SDG 3), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 12), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), and life on land (SDG 15). Meschede (2020) , like Sweileh (2020) , found that SDG 3 (“good health and well-being”) is prominent in SDG research, in an analysis of Scopus and Web of Science data that also identified major publishers and focal SDGs of the research by country of origin. Bautista-Puig and Mauleón (2019) analyzed documents about MDGs and SDGs to estimate research growth on these topics and create an ontology of key terms appearing in the literature.…”

“…Since 2015, there has been growth in bibliometric studies explicitly about SDG research. One study ( Sweileh, 2020 ), using Scopus data and key terms developed by Aurora Universities Network, revealed that SDG17 (Partnerships for the Goals) was the most researched item over the past years (2015–2019). Other SDGs that dominated the overall retrieved literature included: SDGs of poverty (SDG 1), health (SDG 3), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 12), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), and life on land (SDG 15).…”