Abstract
BackgroundFor 20 years, substantial effort has been devoted to catalyse health policy and systems research (HPSR) to support vulnerable populations and resource-constrained regions through increased funding, institutional capacity-building and knowledge production; yet, participation from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is underrepresented in HPSR knowledge production.MethodsA bibliometric analysis of HPSR literature was conducted using a high-level keyword search. Health policy and/or health systems literature with a topic relevant to LMICs and whose lead author’s affiliation is in an LMIC were included for analysis. The trends in knowledge production from 1990 to 2015 were examined to understand how investment in HPSR benefits those it means to serve.ResultsThe total number of papers published in PubMed increases each year. HPSR publications represent approximately 10% of these publications, but this percentage is increasing at a greater rate than PubMed publications overall and the discipline is holding this momentum. HPSR publications with topics relevant to LMICs and an LMIC-affiliated lead authors (specifically from low-income countries) are increasing at a greater rate than any other category within the scope of this analysis.ConclusionsWhile the absolute number of publications remains low, lead authors from an LMIC have participated exponentially in the life and biomedical sciences (PubMed) since the early 2000s. HPSR publications with a topic relevant to LMICs and an LMIC lead author continue to increase at a greater rate than the life and biomedical science topics in general. This correlation is likely due to increased capacity for research within LMICs and the support for publications surrounding large HPSR initiatives. These findings provide strong evidence that continued support is key to the longevity and enhancement of HPSR toward its mandate.
Highlights
For 20 years, substantial effort has been devoted to catalyse health policy and systems research (HPSR) to support vulnerable populations and resource-constrained regions through increased funding, institutional capacity-building and knowledge production; yet, participation from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is underrepresented in HPSR knowledge production
Context-sensitive nature of HPSR knowledge, it is important that HPSR produced is relevant to specific country settings, this is true for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where health systems strengthening efforts have often not been adequately informed by locally relevant research
Given the need to understand the evolution of HPSR research capacity in LMICs, we examined the production of HPSR in LMICs
Summary
For 20 years, substantial effort has been devoted to catalyse health policy and systems research (HPSR) to support vulnerable populations and resource-constrained regions through increased funding, institutional capacity-building and knowledge production; yet, participation from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is underrepresented in HPSR knowledge production. Context-sensitive nature of HPSR knowledge, it is important that HPSR produced is relevant to specific country settings, this is true for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where health systems strengthening efforts have often not been adequately informed by locally relevant research. Given the need to understand the evolution of HPSR research capacity in LMICs, we examined the production of HPSR in LMICs. it is important to know the distribution of research production by topical areas within HPSR. It is important to know the distribution of research production by topical areas within HPSR This has been achieved through an examination of HPSR research production in terms of the six building blocks (BBs) of the health system as put forth by WHO
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