BMJ Global Health (Oct 2021)
Systematic analysis of authorship demographics in global surgery
- Dhananjaya Sharma,
- Aliyu Ndajiwo,
- Soham Bandyopadhyay,
- Aiman Tariq,
- Zineb Bentounsi,
- Muhammed Elhadi,
- Poorvaprabha Patil,
- Krithi Ravi,
- Aurelia Brazeal,
- Davina Daudu,
- Francesca Back,
- Nermin Badwi,
- Sayed Shah Nur Hussein Shah,
- Halimah Khalil,
- Hitomi Kimura,
- Mama Ntiriwa Sekyi-Djan,
- Ahmed Abdelrahman,
- Ahmed Shaheen,
- Aime Gilbert Mbonda Noula,
- Ai-Ting Wong,
- Amine Souadka,
- Ann Nyandia Maina,
- Arsene Daniel Nyalundja,
- Aya Sabry,
- Bourja Hind,
- Daniel Safari Nteranya,
- Dorcas Wambui Ngugi,
- Elsa de Wet,
- Engy Amgad Tolis,
- F Z Wafqui,
- Hajar Essangri,
- Hajar Moujtahid,
- Husna Moola,
- Kapil Narain,
- Krupa Ravi,
- Kyrillos Wassim,
- Lucianne A Odiero,
- Lucina Stephanie Nyaboke,
- Maram Metwalli,
- Maryanne Naisiae,
- Miriam Gerd Pueschel,
- Nafisa Turabi,
- Nouhaila El Aroussi,
- Omar Mohamed Makram,
- Omar A Shawky,
- Oumaima Outani,
- Peter Carides,
- Richard P Halley-Stott,
- Sabina Kurbegovic,
- Samantha Marchant,
- Sara Moujtahid,
- Soukaina El Hadrati,
- Tanishq Agarwal,
- Valerie Atonya Kidavasi,
- Vrinda Agarwal,
- Wilme Steyn,
- Winnie Matumo,
- Youssef Ahmed Fahmy,
- Zaayid Omar,
- Zachary Amod,
- Madelein Eloff,
- Nafisa Agil Hussein
Affiliations
- Dhananjaya Sharma
- 1 Department of Surgery, NSCB Government Medical College, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
- Aliyu Ndajiwo
- General Hospital, Minna, Nigeria
- Soham Bandyopadhyay
- Research Department, Association of Future African Neurosurgeons, Yaounde, Cameroon
- Aiman Tariq
- National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi, Pakistan
- Zineb Bentounsi
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
- Muhammed Elhadi
- University of Tripoli Faculty of Medicine, Tripoli, Libya
- Poorvaprabha Patil
- Kasturba Medical College Manipal, Manipal, Karnataka, India
- Krithi Ravi
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
- Aurelia Brazeal
- Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
- Davina Daudu
- The University of Western Australia Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Francesca Back
- University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division, Oxford, UK
- Nermin Badwi
- Zagazig University Faculty of Human Medicine, Zagazig, Egypt
- Sayed Shah Nur Hussein Shah
- Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
- Halimah Khalil
- Birmingham Medical School, University of Birmingham College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Birmingham, UK
- Hitomi Kimura
- University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- Mama Ntiriwa Sekyi-Djan
- Ipswich Hospital, Ipswich, UK
- Ahmed Abdelrahman
- South Valley University Faculty of Medicine, Qena, Egypt
- Ahmed Shaheen
- Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria, Egypt
- Aime Gilbert Mbonda Noula
- University of Yaounde I Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Yaounde, Cameroon
- Ai-Ting Wong
- Red Cross War Memorial Children`s Hospital, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Amine Souadka
- National Institute of Oncology, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
- Ann Nyandia Maina
- University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- Arsene Daniel Nyalundja
- Universite Catholique de Bukavu, Bukavu, Congo
- Aya Sabry
- Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
- Bourja Hind
- Ibn Rochd University Hospital Center, Casablanca, Morocco
- Daniel Safari Nteranya
- Department of Surgery, Official University of Bukavu, Bukavu, Congo
- Dorcas Wambui Ngugi
- Kenya Methodist University, Meru, Kenya
- Elsa de Wet
- University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
- Engy Amgad Tolis
- Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria, Egypt
- F Z Wafqui
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Casablanca, Morocco
- Hajar Essangri
- National Institute of Oncology, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
- Hajar Moujtahid
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
- Husna Moola
- University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Kapil Narain
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa
- Krupa Ravi
- University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division, Oxford, UK
- Kyrillos Wassim
- Cairo University Kasr Alainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
- Lucianne A Odiero
- University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- Lucina Stephanie Nyaboke
- University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- Maram Metwalli
- Alexandria Main University Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt
- Maryanne Naisiae
- University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences, Nairobi, Kenya
- Miriam Gerd Pueschel
- Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Nafisa Turabi
- Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College and Hospital, Jabalpur, India
- Nouhaila El Aroussi
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
- Omar Mohamed Makram
- Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, October 6 University, 6th of October City, Egypt
- Omar A Shawky
- Cairo University Kasr Alainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
- Oumaima Outani
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
- Peter Carides
- University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa
- Richard P Halley-Stott
- Mahikeng Provincial Hospital, Mahikeng, South Africa
- Sabina Kurbegovic
- Medical Faculty, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Samantha Marchant
- Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, South Africa
- Sara Moujtahid
- Ibn Sina University Hospital Center, Rabat, Morocco
- Soukaina El Hadrati
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
- Tanishq Agarwal
- D Y Patil Medical College, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
- Valerie Atonya Kidavasi
- University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- Vrinda Agarwal
- D Y Patil Medical College, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
- Wilme Steyn
- Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Bertsham, South Africa
- Winnie Matumo
- University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- Youssef Ahmed Fahmy
- South Valley University Faculty of Medicine, Qena, Egypt
- Zaayid Omar
- Rondebosch Medical Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
- Zachary Amod
- University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Madelein Eloff
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa
- Nafisa Agil Hussein
- University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006672
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 6,
no. 10
Abstract
Background Global surgery has recently gained prominence as an academic discipline within global health. Authorship inequity has been a consistent feature of global health publications, with over-representation of authors from high-income countries (HICs), and disenfranchisement of researchers from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this study, we investigated authorship demographics within recently published global surgery literature.Methods We performed a systematic analysis of author characteristics, including gender, seniority and institutional affiliation, for global surgery studies published between 2016 and 2020 and indexed in the PubMed database. We compared the distribution of author gender and seniority across studies related to different topics; between authors affiliated with HICs and LMICs; and across studies with different authorship networks.Results 1240 articles were included for analysis. Most authors were male (60%), affiliated only with HICs (51%) and of high seniority (55% were fully qualified specialist or generalist clinicians, Principal Investigators, or in senior leadership or management roles). The proportion of male authors increased with increasing seniority for last and middle authors. Studies related to Obstetrics and Gynaecology had similar numbers of male and female authors, whereas there were more male authors in studies related to surgery (69% male) and Anaesthesia and Critical care (65% male). Compared with HIC authors, LMIC authors had a lower proportion of female authors at every seniority grade. This gender gap among LMIC middle authors was reduced in studies where all authors were affiliated only with LMICs.Conclusion Authorship disparities are evident within global surgery academia. Remedial actions to address the lack of authorship opportunities for LMIC authors and female authors are required.
