Abstract
BackgroundChina has accumulated considerable experience in malaria control and elimination over the past decades. Many research papers have been published in Chinese journals. This study intends to describe the development and experience of malaria control and elimination in China by quantitatively analysing relevant research using a bibliometric analysis.MethodsA long-term, multistage bibliometric analysis was performed. Research articles published in Chinese journals from 1980 to 2019 were retrieved from the Wanfang and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. Year of publication, journal name and keywords were extracted by the Bibliographic Items Co-occurrence Matrix Builder (BICOMB). The K/A ratio (the frequency of a keyword among the total number of articles within a certain period) was considered an indicator of the popularity of a keyword in different decades. VOSviewer software was used to construct keyword co-occurrence network maps.ResultsA total of 16,290 articles were included. The overall number of articles continually increased. However, the number of articles published in the last three years decreased. There were two kinds of keyword frequency trends among the different decades. The K/A ratio of the keyword ‘Plasmodium falciparum’ decreased (17.05 in the 1980s, 13.04% in the 1990s, 9.86 in the 2000s, 5.28 in the 2010s), but those of ‘imported case’ and ‘surveillance’ increased. Drug resistance has been a continuous concern. The keyword co-occurrence network maps showed that the themes of malaria research diversified, and the degree of multidisciplinary cooperation gradually increased.ConclusionsThis bibliometric analysis revealed the trends in malaria research in China over the past 40 years. The results suggest emphasis on investigation, multidisciplinary participation and drug resistance by researchers and policymakers in malaria epidemic areas. The results also provide domestic experts with qualitative evidence of China’s experience in malaria control and elimination.
Highlights
China has accumulated considerable experience in malaria control and elimination over the past decades
Prevention and control strategies, such as joint malaria prevention and control strategies that lasted more than half a century and the ‘1-3-7’ malaria surveillance and response strategy, were constantly promoted as key interventions to deal with imported cases and local cases [3, 4]
The inclusion criteria were as follows: Chinese articles published in journals from 1980 to 2019; and articles for which at least one of the following words was included in the title or keywords: ‘malaria’, ‘Plasmodium’, or ‘Anopheles’ [12, 13, 17]
Summary
China has accumulated considerable experience in malaria control and elimination over the past decades. The information and experience contained in academic research can serve as references for those areas that are still struggling with malaria, such as malaria hotspots. This information may not directly provide immediate solutions or strategies for other countries, it could assist researchers and policy-makers in predicting potential problems in the phase, readjusting research directions in a shorter period of time, and reducing trial and error costs in the development of strategies and technologies. Some studies have summarized experience with this process and explore the value for other countries Most of these studies focus on local epidemiological data, prevention measures and effects [3, 5,6,7]
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