Low-research settings: is there a need for specific attention from funders?

TL;DR

This paper explores countries with low visibility in healthcare research and suggests funders should pay special attention to address global research equity.

Contribution

The paper distinguishes between low-resource and low-research countries to highlight research equity issues.

Findings

Low-research countries span various income levels and population sizes.

English language bias in databases affects visibility of research from non-Anglophone countries.

Coloniality influences current healthcare research inequalities.

Abstract

In order to achieve global equity in healthcare research it is important to identify countries that are less visible in this regard, to inform interventions. We performed a bibliometric analysis of the Web of Science Core Collection to identify countries with less visible medical research output, particularly in the English language. This highlighted that an important distinction needs to be made between low-resource and low-research countries, as countries of diverse World Bank income classifications and population size appeared as low-research countries in our search. We discuss potential contributors to these inequalities and implications for potential funders and collaborators. Owing to the English language bias of the database used for our search, this piece is aimed, in particular, at Anglophone institutions. It highlights potential issues of coloniality in the healthcare research landscape and provides suggestions to address research equity through more active engagement with countries.

Figures