Tackling COVID-19 Pandemic through Research in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the worst-hit regions globally by COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, scarce literature exists that examines the research strategy of LAC in facing COVID-19. The present study aims to quantify and assess the production of COVID-19 publications in thirty-two countries in LAC during the first half of 2020. A Scopus/PubMed/LILACS search was performed to retrieve research articles related to COVID-19 published from January 1 to July 31, 2020. Subgroup analysis including only original publications was used to better ascertain the contribution of LAC countries, and standardization measures were applied to comparisons of country-specific contributions. We identified 1291 publications across the region. Overall, most articles in the region were non-original (81.6%), and the most productive countries were Brazil (43.9%), Mexico (9.14%), and Colombia (7.98%). This trend shifted to Chile after the standardization. Among original studies, the most common study design was cross-sectional (25.8%). LAC countries generate articles primarily pertaining to diagnosis and treatment (27.4%). In the subgroup analysis, however, epidemiology and surveillance was the most prevalent research focus (24.1%). LAC countries should perform more research with a higher level of evidence to inform health policy making to ease the burden of COVID-19 in the region.

From Roots to Contemporary Nursing in Ex-Yugoslavian Countries: A Synthetic Review

“…Živković and Panić (2020) have already used bibliometrics to analyze the development of science and education in Balkan countries. Additionally, some regional bibliometrics analyses in nursing and health care have been performed (Alarcon-Ruiz et al, 2019; Awe et al, 2021; Benton & Brenton, 2020; Espinosa et al, 2020; Zeinoun et al, 2020). However, none of the above studies covered the whole ex-Yugoslavia countries region or has been used for historical analysis.…”