Macias-Chapula CA "Toward a model of communications in public health in Latin America and the Caribbean " REVISTA PANAMERICANA DE SALUD PUBLICA-PAN AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 18 (6): 427-438 DEC 2005

[Eugene Garfield]

Cesar A. Macias-Chapula : E-mail :
chapula at data.net.mx
macias at bciencias.ucol.mx


Title: Toward a model of communications in public health in Latin America
and the Caribbean

Author(s): Macias-Chapula CA

Source: REVISTA PANAMERICANA DE SALUD PUBLICA-PAN AMERICAN JOURNAL OF
PUBLIC HEALTH 18 (6): 427-438 DEC 2005

Document Type: Article  Language: Spanish
Cited References: 53


Abstract:
Objective. So far, there have been no bibliometric or scientometric studies
that make it possible to examine, with quantitative, retrospective, and
comprehensive criteria, the scientific output on public health in Latin
America and the Caribbean (LAC). Further, the weakness of the existing
information systems makes it impossible to examine the relevance, quality,
and impact of this scientific output, with a view to evaluating it in terms
of societal needs and existing patterns of scientific communication. This
article presents the results of a bibliographic analysis of the scientific
output in the area of public health in Latin America and the Caribbean. The
ultimate goal of the analysis is to build a model of scientific
communication in this field, to help researchers, managers, and others
working in the area of public health to make decisions and choose actions
to take.

Methods. We conducted a literature review in order to identify the
distribution of publications on public health that were produced by LAC
researchers and published in each of the LAC countries from 1980 through
2002. The review used the Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Saude
Publica (LILACS-SP) (Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Public
Health) bibliographic database. That database is operated by the Latin
American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME),
which is in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We processed the LILACS-SP data using two
software packages, Microsoft Excel and Bibexcel, to obtain indicators of
the scientific output, the type of document, the language, the number of
authors for each publication, the thematic content, and the participating
institutions. For the 1980-2002 period, there were 97 605 publications
registered, from a total of 37 LAC countries.

Results. For the analysis presented in this article, we limited the sample
to the 8 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that had at least 3
000 documents each registered in the LILACS-SP database over the 1980-2002
study period. In descending order of the number of publications registered,
the 8 nations were: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru,
and Venezuela. Those 8 countries were responsible for 83 054 publications
(85.10% of the total of 97 605 registered documents produced by the 37 LAC
countries). Of those 83 054 publications from the 8 countries, 56 253 of
them (67.73%) were articles published in scientific journals and 24 488
were monographs (29.48%). The proportion of works produced by two or more
coauthors was relatively high (56.48%). The 56 253 articles appeared in a
total of 929 different journals. Of the 929 journals, 91 of them published
at least 150 articles over the study period. In descending order, LAC
journals with the largest number of articles on public health were: Revista
de Saude Publica (Brazil); Cadernos de Saude Publica (Brazil); Revista
Medica de Chile; Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutricion (Venezuela); and
Salud Publica de Mexico. The 91 journals that published at least 150
articles represented 29 different specialties. The most common of the
specialties for the 91 journals were general medicine (18 journals) and
pediatrics (10 journals). In descending order, the populations that the
publications dealt with primarily were human beings in general, females,
males, and adults; and, in descending order, a relatively small number of
publications dealt with pregnant women and middle-aged or elderly persons.
The topics most often covered in the publications were risk factors, health
policy, and primary health care, as well as family doctors in the case of
Cuba.

Conclusions. This research produced a preliminary model of communications
in public health in LAC countries that will hopefully help lay the
groundwork for further research to develop a model of scientific
communication in LAC nations.

Addresses: Macias-Chapula CA (reprint author), Algeciras 43A,Col
Insurgentes Mixcoac, Mexico City, DF 03920 Mexico

Hosp Gen Mexico City, Direcc Invest, Mexico City, DF Mexico

E-mail Addresses: chapula at data.net.mx

Publisher: PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 525 23RD ST NW, WASHINGTON, DC
20037 USA

Subject Category: PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH; PUBLIC,
ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

IDS Number: 005AP


ISSN: 1020-4989


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