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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 4 | Page : 199-205 |
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Publication output of Riyadh government hospitals: A bibliometric analysis 2006–2016
Ali Howaidi1, Jude Howaidi2, Nora Howaidi3
1 College of Medicine, Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2 College of Pharmacy, Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3 College of Medicine, Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| Date of Web Publication | 26-Oct-2017 |
Correspondence Address:
Ali Howaidi
Uthman Ibn Affan Rd, An Nada, Riyadh 13317, Riyadh
Saudi Arabia
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DOI: 10.4103/jhs.JHS_77_17 
Objective: The objective of this study was to perform and showcase a bibliometric analysis that demonstrates a quantitative research publication output in government hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 2006 and 2016.
Methods: Scopus database was used for this bibliometric analysis in order to gather information relative to research publication output and types of publications. Data analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel.
Results: A total of 8420 publications were retrieved between 2006 and 2016. King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre contributed 3710 (44.06%) of the total publications followed by King Khalid University Hospital with 1293 (15.35%), while King Saud Medical City had 56 (0.66%) publications and King Salman Hospital had only 17 (0.20%). Articles were the most utilised form of publication adding up to 6631 (78%), followed by 779 (9.25%) reviews and 410 (4.86%) letters. The least used forms of publication were short surveys with 19 (0.22%) publications and books at 5 (0.05%).
Conclusion: Saudi Arabia is growing and improving in terms of research publication output from government hospitals in Riyadh. Keywords: Bibliometric, hospitals, publication, Riyadh
How to cite this article:
Howaidi A, Howaidi J, Howaidi N. Publication output of Riyadh government hospitals: A bibliometric analysis 2006–2016. J Health Spec 2017;5:199-205 |
How to cite this URL:
Howaidi A, Howaidi J, Howaidi N. Publication output of Riyadh government hospitals: A bibliometric analysis 2006–2016. J Health Spec [serial online] 2017 [cited 2018 Oct 18];5:199-205. Available from: http://www.thejhs.org/text.asp?2017/5/4/199/217307 |
| Introduction | |  |
Saudi Arabia has been progressing in research in the past decades, and is maintaining the leap in the trajectory of research, mainly due to the prioritisation in the establishment of research centres in government hospitals, as well as prompting research in universities by increasing the number of academic chairs.[1] Health services in the Kingdom is governed by the Ministry of Health which provides and ensures high-quality services.[1] In addition, the development of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, is to assist the healthcare system with the advancement of technology and transformation through their research outputs.[2]
The Saudi government has been emphasising and fostering the importance of biomedical research through the implementation of research centres in government hospitals, with the intent to improve the quality of research in the Kingdom while maintaining a constant production of research publication output. As it was indicated in a study, that all publications in high impact factor journals were from government hospitals, research centres and the Ministry of Health.[3] In a recent research, Saudi Arabia ranked 16th among other countries in articles/studies publication wherein King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre appears to be ahead of other hospitals.[4] Furthermore, it was also demonstrated previously that Saudi Arabia had the highest number of publications regarding Integrative and Complementary Medicine journals.[5]
Saudi Arabia's research publication output is on the rise.[6] The major reason for this being government hospitals' focus on improving therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, as well as promoting and establishing advances in the scientific and clinical community. In Riyadh, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre has been implementing research programmes annually. Their programmes cover Molecular Biomedicine, Cardiovascular and Stem Cell and Tissue Re-engineering.[7] It has a variety of research areas, including disease-based, specialty-based, service-based and advanced research.[7] On the other hand, King Khalid University Hospital has been effectively leading a superior reputed research centre.[8] It vitalises research throughout its research activities. King Khalid University Hospital is maintaining its reputation in biomedical research by providing a contemporary learning field, and its recognition internationally due to its scientific contributions.[8]
King Fahad Medical City Research Centre provides research education through courses and workshops. King Fahad Medical City encourages research recognition and exposure through their annual Research Symposium which provides their employees an opportunity to showcase their research in the form of presentations.[9] The symposium establishment also focuses on international collaboration and discussions.[9]
The government hospitals in Riyadh are maintaining a high calibre in research development, endorsing their research publication output through a variety of programmes. However, there must be a calculable measure to support their research production. The research publication reproducibility and analysis is an observable indicator, and reflects not only the quantity, but also the quality of research programmes in government hospitals in Riyadh. Since the 1980s, bibliometric analyses have been extensively utilised by Arab countries, and its use has been increasing over the years.[10],[11],[12],[13],[14],[15],[16] A bibliometric analysis is suited for the demonstration of the overall aspects in researches and is beneficial in assigning numerical evidence.[17]
The aim of this research was to perform and showcase a bibliometric analysis that demonstrates a quantitative research publication output in government hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 2006 and 2016.
| Methods | | |
Search tool
Scopus was chosen as the source to retrieve all the bibliometric information regarding the publication output of government hospitals in Riyadh. Scopus claims to have the largest database for peer-reviewed papers, journals, conference proceeding and books.[18] Scopus offers a variety of tools to analyse and showcase research output in an easy and simple manner.[18] The multidisciplinary database offers one of the most extensive coverage of research papers as it provides access to over 69 million publications.[19]
Search strategy
The information was gathered by searching for each hospital separately in the 'Affiliation' search category in the Scopus main search page. All government hospitals that were based in Riyadh and were indexed in the Scopus database were searched. These included: King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, King Khalid University Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh Military Hospital, Security Forces Hospital, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, King Saud Medical City and King Salman Hospital (Indexed in Scopus as Prince Salman Hospital). After each search for the hospitals, the search was then narrowed down to the time period between 2006 and 2016; this was easily done as the Scopus interface offers this option at the sidebar for each search.
The data retrieved for each hospital was then recorded and inserted into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet one by one and then checked for any discrepancies. Scopus offers the option to organise each search based on the most to least cited papers; this option was activated for each hospital search, which made it easier to identify the most cited papers. The most cited papers would then be identified manually and then checked for additional information such as the journal and years in which they were published and the associated authors.
Scopus classifies the papers in a search according to their type, for example, the results would have publications in the forms of article, review, letter, note, conference paper, book chapter, editorial, article in press, erratum, short survey and book. The types of publication were again checked manually for each hospital and inserted into excel. This is also easily done as the Scopus sidebar also shows the types and frequencies of every publication type for each search on the sidebar.
Data analyses
Microsoft Excel was used to analyse the data. All the data that were gathered was inserted into Excel to find the percentages, sums, mean, range and to create all the diagrams such as the line graphs and column charts. The annual growth rate was calculated using the formula: ([Ending Value − Beginning Value]/Beginning Value) ×100.
| Results | | |
Annual publication output from each hospital
A total of 8420 combined publications were retrieved. As shown in [Table 1], King Faisal Specialist Hospital has the most publications at 3710 followed by King Khalid University Hospital at 1293, King Abdulaziz Medical City at 1072, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital at 781, King Fahad Medical City at 574, Riyadh Military Hospital at 552, Security Forces Hospital at 187, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center at 178, King Saud Medical City at 56 and King Salman Hospital at 17. The same data are further displayed in [Figure 1] comparing the annual growth of publications for each hospital. The Annual Growth Rate was fluctuating throughout the years as seen in [Table 1]. King Faisal Specialist Hospital publications made up 44.06% of the total publications followed by 15.35% for King Khalid University Hospital and 12.37% for King Abdulaziz Medical City as seen in [Table 2] along with the mean and range for each hospital. The combined annual increase of publications of all hospitals is showcased in [Figure 2]. The shared percentages of each hospital are also shown in [Figure 3]. | Figure 1: Line graph comparing the annual growth of publications for each hospital
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 | Figure 2: Line graph showcasing the combined annual growth of all publications
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Types of publications
The majority of forms of publications were articles at 6631 (78%) out of the total 8420 as shown in [Table 3] and [Table 4]. The same tables also show that between the years 2006 and 2016 a total of 779 (9.25%) reviews and 410 (4.86%) letters were published, followed by 129 (1.53%) conference papers, 126 (1.49%) editorials, 111 (1.31%) notes, 104 (1.23%) book chapters and 77 (0.91%) articles in press. Erratums which are corrections of previous papers made up only 29 (0.34%) of the total publications which leaves short surveys at 19 (0.22%) and books at 5 (0.05%). The percentage share of the types of publications is further displayed in [Figure 4] in a clustered column chart. | Figure 4: Clustered column chart comparing the percentages for each type publication
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Most cited publications from Riyadh Government Hospitals
'Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010' was the most cited paper in the specified time period with 3970 citations followed by 'Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990–2010: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010' with 2741 citations. The top 10 most cited papers and their details are further displayed in [Table 5] with the publish year, journal, associated authors and affiliations.
| Discussion | | |
In this study, we aimed to showcase a bibliometric analysis that demonstrates a quantitative research publication output in government hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 2006 and 2016.
In our findings, government hospitals in the capital have reached 8420 research publications in the past decade. This achievement, not only reflects a numerical increase in research publication but it also demonstrates the projecting propitious chance for the future of research in government hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Moreover, its shows that research will further lead an exceptional healthcare provision for the community.
Data evaluated in a previous study showcased 608 publications from hospitals, research centres and the Ministry of Health in the Kingdom between 2008 and 2012.[3] In comparison, we have found 3420 publications from government hospitals in Riyadh alone. This demonstrates that the Kingdom has been improving and succeeding in their research publications and it reflects the vast work being added to research from government hospitals. Another data that was apparent, in 2010–2011, a total of 1905 articles were published from Saudi Arabia.[4] From our findings, this means that Riyadh government hospitals have contributed with a total of 1397 publications.
It was denoted back in 2010–2011 that King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre appeared to be the most successful in the research field amongst other government hospitals,[4] fortunately, it is still maintaining its reputation of having the highest research publications with a total of 3710 (44.06%) that reflects its sustainment. Meanwhile, King Khalid University Hospital publication totals up to 1293 (15.35%) of the overall total of 8420 from government hospitals. Although King Khalid University Hospital has been showing a steady increase over the years, however, after the year 2012, the research publication output has been declining but not abruptly. King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital have been consistent with their research outputs between 2006 and 2016 composing a total of 1072 (12.73%) and 781 (9.27%). Both are increasing in number over the years with regard to publication output.
It appears that King Fahad Medical City has a noticeable advancement. King Fahad Medical City publications were only 14 in 2006, and have accelerated to 200 publications in 2016 alone. We believe that this astonishing achievement and success of increase in publication output was due to their international collaborations and contributions, as well as their emphasis on advancing their research centre and their annual research reports to improve patient care in terms of quality and benefits.[9] Further proof is the fact that five out of the top six most cited papers were associated with King Fahad Medical City; even though it ranked sixth in terms of the number of publications which it has published between 2006 and 2016. This shows that King Fahad Medical City research output is holding a great emphasis on the quality of its publications rather than its quantity.
Although King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, King Khalid University Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital are not only retaining their publication output but rising in quantity, Riyadh Military Hospital has been lacking in terms of it. The hospital has managed to publish 42 publications in 2006, however, in 2016, only 10 were published, as the downfall in number is seen with an abrupt decline after the year 2013. There is a fluctuating pattern in publication output from Security Forces Hospital and Prince Sultan Cardiac Center. Both comprise only 187 (2.22%) from Security Forces Hospital and 178 (2.11%) from Prince Sultan Cardiac Center.
King Saud Medical City and King Salman Hospital have not been showcasing an increase in research publications. With only 56 (0.66%) from King Saud Medical City and 17 (0.20%) from King Salman Hospital between 2006 and 2016 which seems unpromising for future research in both hospitals. Although King Saud Medical City's mission is to serve the community with a sophisticated and improved care, its vision, however, is to conduct a superior all-inclusive healthcare provision and that their clinical research outcomes would aid in the progression of therapeutic and diagnostic measures in healthcare.[20] Nonetheless, we suppose that the expectation in terms of their research publication would be noticeable and progressive. The presumption, however, is that the lack of research publication would be due to their recent focus and emphasis on research by establishing a new research centre which has lead to a delay in the initiation of research programmes' diversity and lack of research activities as well as symposiums that are yet to be implemented.[20] As for King Salman Hospital, we presume that the causes of the shortfall of research productivity are interchangeable.[21] In addition, we have contacted the institution, and it has been declared that the hospital does not own a research centre.
As it would be excepted, the most utilised form of publication was articles, accounting for 6631 (78%). All of the government hospitals listed have used articles more than any other form of pubublication. Reviews are the second most utilised form of publication with about 779 (9.25%) published Reviews. Moreover, Letters are the third type of publication used with 410 (4.86%) published from government hospitals. The least utilised form of publications were short surveys at 19 (0.22%) and books at only 5 (0.05%) out of the 8420 publications.
It appears that the most cited papers were from King Fahad Medical City,[22],[23],[24],[25],[26] holding 5 out of the 10 most cited papers, with 3 papers ranking as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and another 2 papers ranking as the 5th and 6th. Owing to this achievement, is that most of their papers were indexed in the Lancet Journal. Lancet is one of the most reputed journals globally. We suppose as well that this notable attainment in citation is due to the multiple international collaborations in the research that King Fahad Medical City is emphasising.[9] Moreover, King Abdulaziz Medical City ranked 4th and King Khalid University Hospital ranked 7th but only with one paper being the most cited for each hospital.[27],[28] Although King Faisal Specialist Hospital has 3 most cited papers, the papers ranked as 8th, 9th and 10th.[29],[30],[31]
| Conclusion | | |
Saudi Arabia is growing and improving in terms of research publication output from government hospitals in the capital. We believe that the future seems promising for most of the government hospitals in Riyadh. As the country is advancing in the medical field, the research field will develop alongside with a substantial number of research publication outputs.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
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[Figure 1], [Figure 2], [Figure 3], [Figure 4]
[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3], [Table 4], [Table 5]
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