728 - Representation of Authors from Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) in Invited Editorials on Publications from LMICs

Publication Number: 728.6305

Chris A. Rees, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; Lucie K. Fan, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; Jacob K. Kariuki, Emory University, ATLANTA, GA, United States; Quique Bassat, ISGlobal, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Kitiezo Aggrey. Igunza, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Nyanza, Kenya; Richard Omore, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Kisumu, Nyanza, Kenya; Ikechukwu U. Ogbuanu, Emory University School of Medicine, Freetown, Western Area, Sierra Leone; Rodrick R. Kisenge, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Meghna Ray, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; Uduak B.. Udom, Georgia State University, Power Springs, GA, United States; Sarah E. Wishloff, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; Denis Ohlstrom, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; Elizabeth M. Keating, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; Karim Manji, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar-es-Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Christopher Duggan, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

Background: Invited editorials help highlight and provide additional context to research publications. Authors invited for such editorials are deemed experts and their selection reflects perceptions of influence and supports career advancement. However, authorship patterns in invited editorials on research conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have not been described previously despite well-documented authorship imbalances in research from LMICs.

Objective: To determine geographic authorship distribution for invited editorials on research conducted in LMICs and to identify factors associated with the inclusion of authors affiliated with LMICs

Design/Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of invited editorials on research conducted in LMICs published in 10 leading global health and pediatrics journals according to journal impact factor (2014-2024). We selected editorials on research conducted in LMICs published in the same issue. We extracted author country affiliations from these publications. We extracted editorial board information from journal websites. We constructed a multivariable logistic regression model to identify factors associated with the inclusion of an author affiliated with an LMIC in an invited editorial. We compared editorial board composition and the proportion of invited editorials with any LMIC author.

Results: There were 25,340 publications in the included journals, 3,087 invited editorials, and 671 invited editorials on research conducted in LMICs (119 [17.7%] in pediatric journals and 552 [82.3%] in global health journals). Authors affiliated with institutions in high-income countries (57.0%, n=679,1,191) were most represented among income brackets (P < 0.001; Table 1). Only 24.6% of authors of invited editorials on studies from LMICs had affiliations with the study country. Invited editorials in pediatric journals and those conducted in multiple regions or upper-middle income countries were less likely to include authors affiliated with institutions in LMICs (Table 2). Invited editorials on cohort studies and those conducted in Africa were more likely to include authors affiliated with institutions in LMICs. The proportion of editorial board members affiliated with an institution in an LMIC correlated moderately with the proportion of invited editorials with authors affiliated with LMICs (Spearman’s rho=0.59).

Conclusion(s): Additional efforts are needed to enhance the inclusion of authors affiliated with LMICs in invited editorials on research conducted in LMICs, given their familiarity with contextual findings and ability to provide unique and key insight.

Table 1. Authorship characteristics for invited editorials on pediatric and global health research conducted in low- and middle-income countries (N=1,191 authors)*


Table 2. Multivariable logistic regression model to identify factors associated with the inclusion of an author affiliated with an institution in LMIC in invited editorial (N=671)