1,720,966 research outputs found
Assessing patterns of authorship of low- and middle-income countries in global commercial clinical trials in oncology
Full text linkPoor authorship practices in global health research may be a sign of unequal partnerships. Previous studies have shown that authors from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are frequently underrepresented in publications from global research collaborations between LMICs and high-income countries (HICs). To the best of our knowledge, the patterns of authorship from LMICs in international industry-sponsored clinical research on breast, lung and colon cancer have not yet been investigated. Therefore, as a spin-off to broader research on globalization of commercial clinical trials in oncology, we conducted an analysis of authorship in the publications from completed industry-sponsored therapeutic trials in breast, lung and colon cancer (from phase I to IV) that involved LMICs. Only articles published in a peer-reviewed journal in English by March 30, 2024 were included. A total of 302 publications from 173 trials were analysed. 63% (n = 191) of them have at least one author from a middle-income country (MIC); 14% (n = 42) articles have the first author from a MIC; and 13% (n = 39) articles have the last author from a MIC. Conversely, 37% (n = 111) of articles had no author from MIC, including two trials conducted only in MICs. In conclusion, our study found an imbalance in authorship, suggestive of significant inequalities, in collaborative research in industry-sponsored clinical trials for breast, lung and colon cancer. Industry sponsors need to work towards greater equity in authorship when collaborating with researchers in (L)MICs, and oncology researchers and opinion leaders in HICs should actively advocate for greater fairness to their colleagues in (L)MICs
Access to medicine among asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants across the migratory cycle: a scoping review protocol
Full text linkINTRODUCTION: Migration creates new health vulnerabilities and exacerbates pre-existing medical conditions. Migrants often face legal, system-related, administrative, language and financial barriers to healthcare, but little is known about factors that specifically influence migrants’ access to medicines and vaccines. This scoping review aims to map existing evidence on access to essential medicines and vaccines among asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants who aim to reach Europe. We will consolidate existing information and analyse the barriers that limit access at the different stages of the migratory phases, as well as policies and practices undertaken to address them. METHODS: We follow the Arksey and O’Malley framework for knowledge synthesis of research, as updated by Levac et al. For reporting the results of our search and to synthetise evidence, we will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extended reporting guideline for scoping reviews. This scoping review consists of five iterative stages. Bibliographic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Scopus) and grey literature databases (Open Grey, Grey Literature Report and Google Scholar, Web of Science Conference Proceedings, non-governmental organisations and United Nations agency websites) will be searched for relevant studies. DISSEMINATION AND ETHICS: This review will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed article in a scientific open-access journal and conference presentations. Furthermore, findings will be shared at workshops of research and operational stakeholders for facilitating translation into research and operational practices. Since it consists of reviewing and collecting data from publicly available materials, this scoping review does not require ethics approval
Globalisation of industry-sponsored clinical trials for breast, lung and colon cancer research: trends, threats and opportunities
Full text linkAbstract
Objective Breast, lung, colon cancers are the ‘big killers’ in oncology. Access to innovative treatments lags behind in low-income and middle-income countries. We investigated the geographic distribution of industry-sponsored trials; and whether results were reported in clinical trial registries.
Methods and analysis We conducted a search in ClinicalTrials.gov by: (i) study type: interventional; (ii) condition: breast, lung, colon cancer; (iii) phases: I–IV; (iv) funder: industry. Trials registered as of 30 June 2018 were extracted; for completed trials, a second extraction was performed on 30 September 2022.
Results We included 4177 trials. Phase I–IV trials involving only high-income countries were 3254/4177 (77.9%), while 923/4177 (22.1%) trials included at least one site in middle-income countries (MICs). Most phase III trials (416/688; 60.5%) involved MICs, including only lower MICs (6/416, 1.4%), only upper MICs (225/416, 54.1%) and lower and upper MICs (185/416, 44.5%). Phase IV trials involved MICs in 45/89 (50.6%) cases. Phase I and II trials included MICs in smaller proportions (72/950, 7.6% and 390/2450, 15.9%, respectively). No trials were run in low-income countries (LICs). Among completed trials, 430 out of 1854 (23.2%) involved MICs. Results had not been entered in the registry in 63.4% (1176/1854) of trials overall and 49.5% (213/430) of trials involving MICs.
Conclusion Trials for breast, lung and colon cancers are increasingly delocalised to countries likely unable to get access to innovative medicines. Furthermore, LICs are not hosting any industry-sponsored trials. Measures are needed to ensure benefit-sharing for trials countries; to improve transparency and to stimulate research addressing the needs of LICs
Access to and use of medicines among Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in Germany and the population with government health insurance in Syria
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
The role of community pharmacists with Syrian migration background in addressing healthcare needs of migrant population in Germany: a qualitative study
Full text linkBackground: Migrants often face various barriers to their access to healthcare services. Community pharmacists play a crucial role in offering accessible, patient-centred healthcare services. However, little is known about the unique role of migrant pharmacists in addressing the healthcare needs of migrants. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the role of migrant pharmacists in providing access to healthcare for migrant populations in Germany. Methods: This exploratory qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with Syrian migrant pharmacists working in Germany. Participants were recruited through contacts from the author’s professional network. All interviews were remotely conducted, recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to ensure that findings are grounded in the original data. Results: Ten Syrian migrant pharmacists were interviewed. The findings highlighted the multifaceted role of migrant pharmacists, extending beyond medicine dispensing to bridging gaps in healthcare access through culturally appropriate services. Their ability to communicate in patients’ native languages and provide tailored advice positioned them as key facilitators in addressing migrants’ healthcare challenges. Participants described their proactive involvement in health promotion, particularly in raising awareness about preventive measures such as vaccinations. However, they also faced significant challenges, including regulatory constraints and resource limitations, which they navigated through various adaptive strategies. Conclusions: This study explored the role of migrant pharmacists, particularly those from Syria, in addressing the healthcare needs of migrants in Germany. Their ability to communicate in both Arabic and German and to understand cultural nuances is a key asset that helps overcome language barriers, making them an invaluable resource for migrant patients. The research highlighted the multifaceted nature of the pharmacists’ roles, which extend beyond dispensing medicines, bridging gaps in healthcare access through culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate services. The study also shed light on the adaptive strategies and recommendations for strengthening the role of migrant pharmacists
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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