The extent of pediatric orthopaedic research in low- and middle-income countries and the impact of academic collaboration on research quality: a scoping review

John M Ibrahim; Max Liu; Hao-Hua Wu; Kushal R Patel; Amber M Caldwell; Ralph Richard Coughlin; Saam Morshed; David W Shearer

doi:10.1007/s00383-018-4412-4

The extent of pediatric orthopaedic research in low- and middle-income countries and the impact of academic collaboration on research quality: a scoping review

Pediatr Surg Int. 2019 Mar;35(3):397-411. doi: 10.1007/s00383-018-4412-4. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Authors

John M Ibrahim¹, Max Liu², Hao-Hua Wu³, Kushal R Patel⁴, Amber M Caldwell³, Ralph Richard Coughlin³, Saam Morshed³, David W Shearer³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Trauma Institute, Institute for Global Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University of California, San Francisco, 2550 23rd Street, Building 9, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94110, USA. john.ibrahim@ucsf.edu.
² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94063, USA.
³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Trauma Institute, Institute for Global Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University of California, San Francisco, 2550 23rd Street, Building 9, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94110, USA.
⁴ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.

PMID: 30413920
DOI: 10.1007/s00383-018-4412-4

Abstract

Introduction: This review aims to (1) assess the breadth of pediatric orthopaedic research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and (2) determine the impact of academic collaboration (an LMIC and a non-LMIC investigator) in published LMIC research.

Methods: Pediatric orthopaedic clinical studies conducted in LMICs from 2004 to 2014 were extracted from Embase, Cochrane, and Pubmed databases. Of 22,714 searched studies, 129 met inclusion criteria.

Results: 85% generated low-quality evidence (level IV or lower). 21% were collaborative, and these were more likely than non-collaborative papers to generate level III evidence or higher (25% vs 13%, p = 0.141).

Discussion: Pediatric orthopaedic research produced by LMICs rarely achieves level I-III evidence, but collaborative studies are associated with higher levels of evidence.

Level of evidence: N/A.

Keywords: Academic collaboration; Global surgery; Low- and middle-income countries; Orthopaedics; Pediatrics; Scoping review.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biomedical Research*
Child
Developing Countries*
Humans
Orthopedics / methods*
Poverty