The evolution of health policy and systems research in 11 low- and middle-income countries and the role of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research: a bibliometric analysis for 1999–2020
2025

Health Policy and Systems Research Growth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Sample size: 1359 publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Paichadze Nino, Cook Emma K., Rosen Heather E., Kurtovic Sara, Hyder Adnan A.

Primary Institution: The George Washington University

Hypothesis

How has health policy and systems research evolved in 11 low- and middle-income countries over the past two decades?

Conclusion

The growth in health policy and systems research reflects increased research capacity and output in the 11 target countries.

Supporting Evidence

  • HPSR publications increased by an average of 34% per year from 1999 to 2020.
  • The majority of publications were in health systems and health workforce thematic areas.
  • 19% of HPSR publications were authored by Alliance-funded investigators.

Takeaway

This study looked at how research on health policies has grown in certain countries over 20 years, showing that more studies are being done now than before.

Methodology

A systematic literature search and bibliometric analysis were conducted on health policy and systems research publications from 1999 to 2020.

Potential Biases

Potential transcription errors for author names may have affected the identification of Alliance-funded investigators.

Limitations

The study may have missed relevant publications due to the exclusion of non-English abstracts and potential inaccuracies in the database of Alliance-funded investigators.

Participant Demographics

The study focused on publications from 11 low- and middle-income countries.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/s12961-024-01254-z

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