International Collaboration in Health Systems Research
Author Information
Author(s): Block Miguel A González
Primary Institution: Center for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health
Hypothesis
To what extent are papers comparing developing countries as against reporting on single country studies?
Conclusion
There is a modest health systems research capacity in many developing countries for single country studies, but capacity is severely limited for multi-country studies.
Supporting Evidence
- Only 10% of papers have an international, cross-country focus.
- 74% of cross-country papers are led by institutions in high income countries.
- Only 11% of single-country papers and 21% of multi-country studies are the product of South-South collaboration.
Takeaway
This study looked at how countries work together on health research. It found that while some countries are doing research alone, many need help to work together better.
Methodology
Content analysis of 8,751 papers published in Medline between 1999 and 2003.
Potential Biases
The analysis may not fully represent the research landscape due to language and publication biases.
Limitations
Only 69% of papers included the corresponding author's institutional data, limiting the sample for this variable.
Participant Demographics
Papers were primarily from upper middle income and high income countries, with a focus on low income countries.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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