Publication output of the new integrated strategy for schistosomiasis japonica control in China: a PubMed-based bibliometric assessment

Abstract

Background: Although sustainable control since 1950s has achieved great successes, schistosomiasis japonica remains a major public health problem in China. Since 2004, a new integrated strategy was developed aiming to control the transmission of Schistosoma japonicum through the implementation of a package of interventions. To date, no systematic review or meta-analysis assessing the effectiveness of this new integrated strategy for schistosomiasis control in China has been published. We performed a PubMed-based bibliometric assessment of publications on the new integrated strategy for schistosomiasis japonica control in China, to understand the global transmissibility and sharing of the new integrated strategy. Methods: An in-depth bibliometric analysis of all publications on the new integrated strategy for schistosomiasis japonica control in China was performed through a PubMed search using the terms “schistosomiasis” and “China,” from January 1, 2004 to August 31, 2018. All titles and abstracts were read carefully, and the publications reporting the effectiveness, experiences, lessons, or problems of the new integrated strategy were included in the bibliometric analysis. Results: Overall, 2,361 titles were screened, and 70 eligible publications were accessed for analyses, including 23 studies in English, published in 15 international journals, and 47 studies in Chinese with abstracts in English, published in 3 national journals. Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control (Zhongguo Xue Xi Chong Bing Fang Zhi Za Zhi) published 60% of the research output. Research articles (48.6%) and short reports (37.1%) were the dominant manuscript types. Furthermore, 471 contributing authors from 277 affiliations across 9 countries produced these 70 publications. Conclusion: This is the first PubMed-based quantitative analysis of the research output of the new integrated strategy, and our data indicate a low global transmissibility of Chinese new integrated strategy. We therefore call for more research outputs of the new integrated strategy for schistosomiasis japonica control in China to be communicated through international platforms.

Keywords

• schistosomiasis japonica
• integrated strategy
• publication output
• bibliometric analysis
• PubMed