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Paiva CE, Bonilla-Sierra P, Tripodoro VA, Rodríguez-Nunez A, De Simone G, Rodriguez LH, de Oliveira Vidal EI, Ríos MR, Crispim DH, Pérez-Cruz P, de Angelis Nascimento MS, Ospina PMR, de Lima L, Pastrana T, Zimmerman C, Hui D, Bruera E, Paiva BSR. How to Advance Palliative Care Research in South America? Findings From a Delphi Study. J Pain Symptom Manage 2023; 65:193-202. [PMID: 36455800 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT Progress in palliative care (PC) necessarily involves scientific development. However, research conducted in South America (SA) needs to be improved. OBJECTIVES To develop a set of recommendations to advance PC research in SA. METHODS Eighteen international PC experts participated in a Delphi study. In round one, items were developed (open-ended questions); in round two, each expert scored the importance of each item (from 0 to 10); in round three, they selected the 20 most relevant items. Throughout the rounds, the five main priority themes for research in SA were defined. In Round three, consensus was defined as an agreement of ≥75%. RESULTS 60 potential suggestions for overcoming research barriers in PC were developed in round one. Also in Round one, 88.2% (15 of 17) of the experts agreed to define a priority research agenda. In Round two, the 36 most relevant suggestions were defined and a new one added. Potential research priorities were investigated (open-ended). In Round three, from the 37 items, 10 were considered the most important. Regarding research priorities, symptom control, PC in primary care, public policies, education and prognosis were defined as the most relevant. CONCLUSION Potential strategies to improve scientific research on PC in SA were defined, including stimulating the formation of collaborative research networks, offering courses and workshops on research, structuring centers with infrastructure resources and trained researchers, and lobbying governmental organizations to convince about the importance of palliative care. In addition, priority research topics were identified in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Eduardo Paiva
- Palliative and Quality of Life Research Group (GPQual) (C.E.P., B.S.R.P.), Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil.
| | - Patricia Bonilla-Sierra
- Department of Health Sciences (P.B.S.), Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), Loja, Ecuador
| | | | - Alfredo Rodríguez-Nunez
- Palliative Care Program, Faculty of Medicine (A.R.N.), Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gustavo De Simone
- Instituto Pallium Latinoamérica (V.A.T., G.S.), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | | | - Miriam Riveros Ríos
- Departamento de Cuidados Paliativos, Hospital de Clinicas (M.R.R.), Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay
| | - Douglas Henrique Crispim
- Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP (D.H.C.), Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Pedro Pérez-Cruz
- Sección Medicina Paliativa, Facultad de Medicina (P.P.C.), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
| | | | | | - Liliana de Lima
- International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) (L.L.), Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Tania Pastrana
- Department of Palliative Medicine (T.P.), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Camilla Zimmerman
- Department of Supportive Care (C.Z.), Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - David Hui
- Department of Palliative Care, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine (D.H., E.B.), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Eduardo Bruera
- Department of Palliative Care, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine (D.H., E.B.), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Bianca Sakamoto Ribeiro Paiva
- Palliative and Quality of Life Research Group (GPQual) (C.E.P., B.S.R.P.), Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
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Alsirafy SA, Mousa SMA. Palliative care journal publications by country as a metric for palliative care development level. BMJ Support Palliat Care 2022:spcare-2022-003820. [PMID: 36130815 DOI: 10.1136/spcare-2022-003820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE There is a growing interest in developing a scientific research metric to assess the level of palliative care (PC) development in countries. This study assesses a metric based on publishing in specialised PC journals as an indicator for the level of PC development. METHODS A 3-year average articles per million population per year (3y-AAMY) metric was calculated using documents published in 19 specialised PC journals indexed in Scopus database. Countries were categorised into six levels starting with level '0' with no publications then levels Q1 to Q5 according to the 3y-AAMY quintiles (Q5=best performance). The relationship between the 3y-AAMY and the level of PC development in countries and opioid consumption figures was tested. RESULTS During 2016-2018, 6610 eligible documents were published in the selected 19 journals. The median (IQR) 3y-AAMY of 191 countries was 0.0123 (0-0.237). The 3y-AAMY differed significantly among the levels of PC development, being 0 (IQR:0-0) for category 1 (no known activity) countries and 1.129 (IQR:0.286-4.625) for category 4B (advanced integration) countries (Kruskal-Wallis test p<0.000001 and Jonckheere-Terpstra trend test p<0.00001). The correlation between the 3y-AAMY and average opioid consumption was a highly significant positive one (Spearman's ρ=0.681, p<0.0001). Furthermore, opioid consumption differed significantly between the 3y-AAMY categories being highest for Q5 countries (Kruskal-Wallis test p<0.000001 and Jonckheere-Terpstra trend test p<0.00001). CONCLUSION A metric based on publishing in specialised PC journals correlates significantly with the levels of PC development and opioid consumption in countries and may be used alongside other indicators for the assessment of PC development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samy A Alsirafy
- Palliative Medicine Unit, Department of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Somaia M A Mousa
- Department of Clinical Pathology, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
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Alsirafy SA, Hassan AD, Sroor MY, Samy I, Mousa SMA. Contribution of Eastern Mediterranean Region countries to palliative care journals from 1991 to 2020 and its relationship to the development of palliative care. BMC Palliat Care 2022; 21:123. [PMID: 35821039 PMCID: PMC9277915 DOI: 10.1186/s12904-022-01016-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Palliative care (PC) is in an early stage of development in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) of the World Health Organization. A metric based on publishing in specialized PC journals may be useful in assessing PC development. This study was conducted to describe the contribution of EMR countries to PC research and to study the relationship between this contribution and the levels of PC development. Methods The Scopus database was used to search 21 PC journals (1991–2020) for articles with at least one EMR-affiliated author independently of his/her position in the article. As an indicator, the 3-year average articles per million population per year (AAMY) was calculated. Changes over time were calculated through a regression analysis. The relationship between the AAMY and the level of PC development and opioid consumption were assessed through Mann-Witney test using the worldmap PC development categories as a proxy, and Spearman analysis, respectively. Results The number of articles published during the 30-year period was 31,108 of which 402 (1.3%) were EMR-affiliated. There was a steady rise in the AAMY of the EMR (R2 = 0.894). The number of EMR-affiliated articles increased from 3 in the period 1991–1995 to 191 in 2016–2020. The 2018–2020 AAMY was significantly higher in countries with greater PC development than in those without (median [IQR] = 0.0975 [0.0254–0.1802] and 0.0098 [0–0.0256], p = 0.042). Also, it was significantly higher in countries that progressed to a higher level of PC development between 2006 and 2017 (p = 0.0159). There was a significant positive correlation between the average opioid consumption for the years 2017–2019 and the AAMY for the same period (p = 0.0043). Conclusions There is a slow steady progress in the contribution of EMR countries to PC journals, which corresponds to the level of PC development and its progress in the region. A metric based on the contribution to specialized PC journals may be a useful indicator of PC development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samy A Alsirafy
- Palliative Medicine Unit, Kasr Al-Ainy Center of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Amneh D Hassan
- Palliative Care Unit, Hemato-Oncology Department, King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mahmoud Y Sroor
- Palliative Care Medicine, Oncology Centre, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.,Clinical Oncology Department, Kasr Al-Ainy Center of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ismail Samy
- Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Somaia M A Mousa
- Clinical Pathology Department, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
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Abstract
Ecuador has shown a growth in its scientific production since 2011, representing 85% of the total historical production. These investigations are reflected in scientific publications, which address world interest topics and serve as a link for the university, business, and society. This work aims to analyze the scientific production generated by Ecuador in the period of 1920–2020 using bibliometric methods to evaluate its intellectual structure and performance. The methodology applied in this study includes: (i) terms definition and search criteria; (ii) database selection, initial search, and document compilation; (iii) data extraction and software selection; and finally, (iv) analysis of results. The results show that scientific production has been consolidated in 30,205 documents, developed in 27 subject areas, in 13 languages under the contribution of 84 countries. This intellectual structure is in harmony with the global context when presenting research topics related to “Biology and regional climate change”, “Higher education and its various approaches”, “Technology and Computer Science”, “Medicine”, “Energy, food and water”, and ”Development and applications on the Web”. Topics framed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sustainability, climate change, and others. This study contributes to the academic community, considering current re-search issues and global concerns, the collaboration between universities and countries that allow establishing future collaboration links.
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