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Research outputs in respiratory medicine
I Rippon1, G Lewison, M R Partridge
1Department of Information Science, Imperial College London, Charing Cross Campus, London W6 8RP, UK.
Thorax
|December 25, 2004
Summary
Global respiratory medicine research varies by country and topic. Research output often poorly correlates with disease burden, with funding influencing specific areas like cystic fibrosis.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
- Medical Research Trends
- Global Health Research
Background:
- Limited understanding of factors influencing respiratory medicine research distribution.
- Need to assess alignment between research activity, clinical interests, disease burden, and funding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the global distribution of respiratory medicine research output.
- To compare research activity with national disease burdens and funding sources.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 81,419 respiratory publications (1996-2001) from Science Citation Index.
- Categorization of publications by 14 subject areas and 15 OECD countries.
- Comparison of research output with disease burden data; UK funding sources investigated.
Main Results:
- Finland, Canada, Spain, and UK showed high relative commitment to respiratory research.
- Asthma, lung cancer, and pediatric lung disease were the largest research areas.
- Research output correlated poorly with disease burden for most areas; funding influenced UK's cystic fibrosis research.
Conclusions:
- Respiratory research focus does not consistently align with disease prevalence.
- Specific countries show strengths in particular research areas (e.g., Finland in occupational lung disease).
- Funding significantly impacts research focus, as seen in UK cystic fibrosis research.