Cuban Scientific Production on Diabetes, 2000-2017: Peer-reviewed Publications, Collaboration and Impact

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics
• Diabetes Research
• Scientific Publishing

Background:

• Global diabetes prevalence is increasing, necessitating research evaluation.
• Cuban scientific output on diabetes lacks bibliometric analysis.
• Understanding research impact is key to addressing global health challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To bibliometrically analyze Cuban research on diabetes from 2000-2017.
• To assess the production, visibility, and impact of Cuban diabetes research.
• To examine institutional and international collaboration patterns in Cuban diabetes research.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of Scopus database records (2000-2017).
• Search strategy focused on "diabetes" descriptor, "Cuba" as country, and "original research" or "review article" types.
• Examination of production, visibility, impact, and collaboration indicators.

Main Results:

• Cuba produced 610 articles (3.2% of Latin America, 0.1% globally).
• 85.9% had Cuban corresponding authors; 22.9% involved international collaboration.
• Only 11.1% published in top journals; 14.4% cited >10 times; 38.4% in low-impact journals.
• English articles had higher citation impact than Spanish.
• US-Cuba collaboration networks were strongest.

Conclusions:

• Cuban diabetes research has low visibility in high-impact international journals.
• Strategic improvements in scientific writing and journal selection are needed.
• Universities should integrate scientific writing training for health professionals.