Doenças tropicais negligenciadas no Haiti: perfil cienciométrico de publicações científicas de 1923-2022

Abstract

Introduction: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are diseases or health conditions that have a significant impact on poorer people and communities, with high morbidity and mortality, affecting more than 1 billion people worldwide, with serious consequences for physical and mental health, as well as economic impacts. The World Health Organization (WHO) has included 20 neglected diseases in its priority list. In Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, NTDs are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Objective: To analyse the scientometric profile of scientific publications on neglected tropical diseases in Haiti from 1923 to 2022. Methods: Scientometric study of publications on NTDs in Haiti indexed in the Scopus® database, based on specific criteria, from 1923 to 2022.Data on authorship, country of origin, institutions and descriptors were extracted and analysed, with analyses of temporal trends. Bibliographic networks were constructed using the scientometric visualisation software VOSviewer®. Results: A total of 281 publications were retrieved, with an increase of 66.8% (127/281, annual average of 12.7 publications) in the last decade (2013-2022) compared to the first half of the period analyzed (1923-1972, annual average of 0.19 publications). The authors with the highest number of publications were Lammie PJ (N=51), Eberhard ML (N=29) and Wallace RM (N=25). A total of 83 institutions participated in the research, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta) having the highest proportion of affiliations in the coauthorship by institution analysis (N=86), with authors from 35 countries. Co-authorship by country shows publications between institutions in the Americas (n=13), Europe (n=9), Asia (n=5), Africa (n=4) and Oceania (n=3). The analysis of co-occurrence versus author keywords shows a higher occurrence of the terms "dengue" and "rabies". Conclusions: There is a limited number of publications on NTDs in Haiti over the course of the century-long analysis, despite the relative increase in the period 2013-2022.These publications are concentrated among foreign authors, with limited national co-authorship, and do not cover all endemic areas or the most prevalent diseases in the country.