Underreporting of Developing World Health Issues in Medical Journals
Author Information
Author(s): Bernard Lown, Amitava Banerjee
Primary Institution: Harvard School of Public Health
Hypothesis
Are health issues in the developing world adequately represented in leading medical journals?
Conclusion
Less than 3% of publications in the New England Journal of Medicine addressed health issues relevant to the developing world from 1997 to 2004.
Supporting Evidence
- Less than 3% of articles in the NEJM addressed health issues in the developing world.
- Only 135 of the 202 relevant articles were concerned with HIV and communicable diseases.
- Only one article discussed heart disease in the developing world during the study period.
Takeaway
This study found that very few articles in a major medical journal talk about health problems in poor countries, which is a big problem.
Methodology
The study reviewed 416 issues of the NEJM over eight years, analyzing 8857 articles for relevance to health issues in developing countries.
Potential Biases
There is a systematic bias in medical literature against diseases prevalent in the least-developed regions.
Limitations
The study only examined one journal, which may not represent the entire landscape of medical literature.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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