Global scientific research output on sickle cell disease: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis of web of science publication

Abstract

Sickle cell disease (SCD) remains a global public health problem in sub‐Saharan Africa and other countries. Limited information is available on the scientific research productivity on SCD. The study aims to assess the growth of global scientific research output on SCD and provide historical insights for a scientific research community. A bibliometric method was applied using the Web of Science (WoS) database from 1900 to 2020. Keywords terms: Title ‘sickle cell*’ OR ‘sickle cell anemia*’ were used. Fundamental bibliometric indicators were analyzed using HistCite, VOS-viewer, and “Bibliometrix app.” using R-studio cloud and SPSS version. 0.19.Search strategy retrieved 11917 documents, written by 31072 authors and published in 1813 prestigious journals, with an average of 27.34 citations per document, 2.8 collaboration index, and 2.61 authors per document. Blood, American and British Journals of Hematology are the most productive journals, and the most active author is Serjeant GR. The fund comes from the United States Department of Health Human Services, and the USA was the most productive country. ‘Anemia,’ ‘children,’ ‘disease,’ and management were the most credence keywords.‘Hematology’ and ‘General internal medicine’ were top WoS research categories. There is a significant (P<0.001) association between citations and the number of documents in the Journal, Year of publications, countries, authors. The study provides baseline information on research productivity and insights into the historical progressions on SCD globally. However, in Africa, where SCD is still a public health burden, there is a significant dearth of research.