Research ranking and Evaluation of Iranian Social Determinants of Health Research Centers: an effective step toward health equity

Abstract

Background and Aim: According to the WHO Commission on social determinants of health, identification of social determinants of health and collection of scientific evidence in this domain is essential for reducing health inequity. This is considered one of the main missions of social determinants of health research centers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the status of knowledge production in the county SDH research centers in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this 5-year cross-sectional study (2014 – 2018) 33 SDH research centers were assessed in regard to knowledge production indicators such as published articles, citation, H index, the high-quality publication (Q1), and international collaborations. Results: We found 4229 indexed articles which have been published by 334 faculty members/researchers of these research centers from 2014 to 2018. 11.9 percent of these articles have been published in high-quality research journals and 488 articles were produced with international collaboration. In 2018, the total number of citations to these articles published by these research centers from 2014 to 2018, was 4427 and the highest five-year H index was 26. According to the results of the research rankings, social determinants of health research centers of Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and Qazvin were ranked first to third, respectively. Conclusion: The trend of knowledge production in Iranian social determinants of health research centers has paralleled the trend of their citations and it is necessary to pay more attention to high-quality journals for publication of articles and expansion of international collaboration. Obviously, producing scientific documentation can be an effective source in health promotion policies and reduction of access gradients

Keywords

• health equity
• evaluation
• social determinants of health
• medical research center
• knowledge production