https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2022.1520

Rheumatology research output in the Arab World: despite the challenges

Vol. 74 No. 3 (2022)
Submitted: 21 August 2022
Accepted: 3 October 2022
Published: 29 December 2022
Rheumatology research, resources, Arab world
Abstract Views: 834
PDF: 443
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

G. El Hasbani
Department of Internal Medicine, Hartford HealthCare, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Bridgeport, CT, United States.
A.S.M. Jawad
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8949-2608
Department of Rheumatology, The Royal London Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
I. Uthman
iuthman@aub.edu.lb
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8285-6483
Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.

Rheumatology is a field in which diagnostic, pathophysiological, and therapeutic advancements occur daily. These developments are the result of research in basic sciences, translational sciences, and clinical sciences. Physical and financial support, provided by individuals and institutions, is essential for all types of research. The political and economic instability in the Arab world has impacted the advancement of healthcare and the output of research. This review seeks to evaluate the quantity and quality of rheumatology-related research conducted in the Arab world. This review examined the number of rheumatological clinical publications produced by Arab countries between 2017 and 2021 and cited by PubMed/MEDLINE. Publications with authors from multiple nations were disqualified. Publications were then categorized by type, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, systematic reviews, narrative reviews, and case reports. Publications were also organized according to the regions of the Arab world: North and East Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula. The review also used data from the world bank to evaluate the gross domestic product (GDP) and total population of Arabian nations in order to calculate a ratio of publications to GDP and publications to population. Egypt had the highest number of publications among north and east African countries and Arab countries in general, with 261 publications, including the highest number of RCTs, which were 23. With 81 publications, Saudi Arabia had the highest number of publications on the Arabian peninsula. However, no individual country on the Arabian peninsula published an RCT. Lebanon had the most publications in the Middle East, but the majority were reviews and case reports. Tunisia had the highest ratio of publications to GDP. Notably, the number of publications increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 era in some countries. The Arab world is still able to produce clinical rheumatology publications despite its political instability and lack of resources. The influence of such publications on the daily practice of rheumatology is still debatable.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Berger DH. An introduction to obtaining extramural funding. J Surg Res. 2005; 128: 226-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2005.06.004
Batniji R, Khatib L, Cammett M, et al. Governance and health in the Arab world. Lancet. 2014; 383: 343-55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62185-6
Bredan A. Conducting publishable research under conditions of severely limited resources. Libyan J Med. 2020; 15: 1688126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19932820.2019.1688126
El Achi N, Honein-Abouhaidar G, Rizk A, et al. Assessing the capacity for conflict and health research in Lebanon: a qualitative study. Conflict Health 2020; 14: 59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-020-00304-x
Hakoum MB, Jouni N, Abou-Jaoude EA, et al. 2017. Characteristics of funding of clinical trials: cross-sectional survey and proposed guidance. BMJ Open 7: e015997 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-015997

How to Cite

El Hasbani, G., Jawad, A., & Uthman, I. (2022). Rheumatology research output in the Arab World: despite the challenges. Reumatismo, 74(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2022.1520
Copyright (c) 2022 the Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Similar Articles

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.