A Bibliometric Analysis of COVID-19 Scientific Literature From the English-Speaking Caribbean

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global crisis and has affected the Caribbean islands, leading to significant health and socioeconomic consequences in this region. Efforts to mitigate the burden of this disease have led to an accelerated amount of research in the English-speaking Caribbean (ESC). This bibliometric analysis aimed to evaluate the COVID-19-related scientific literature from the ESC nations. A total of 175 articles were included and analyzed from an initial PubMed search (n = 638) for COVID-19-related scientific literature from the ESC nations published between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2022. Microsoft Excel 2016 (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington) and the VOSviewer (version 1.6.18) were used to characterize countries, authorship, journals, affiliations, and keywords of the COVID-19-related articles. Trinidad and Tobago (38%), Jamaica (22%), Barbados (20%), and Grenada (15%) contributed to the greatest number of publications. The University of the West Indies (UWI) campuses in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados, and St. George's University in Grenada were the most prolific institutions. Srikanth Umakanthan from the UWI was the most prolific author. Cureus, SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine, and Frontiers in Public Health were the first three most productive journals; 59% of the 175 articles had either the first or last author affiliated with an institution in the ESC, and 19% of the articles were country-focused: Trinidad and Tobago (16/175), Jamaica (9/175), Barbados (5/175), and Antigua and Barbuda (2/175). Among the top themes of research, 27% were outbreak response and rearrangements, epidemiological studies (23%), clinical management (23%), and medical education (13%). Over the last two years, an interest stimulated by the pandemic has expanded the research in ESC countries. However, gaps in the knowledge exist, especially in the epidemiology of COVID-19 complications in the sub-populations of chronic non-communicable diseases, post-COVID syndrome, and the long-COVID syndrome in the region. Hence, there is enormous scope for more research across the region.

Keywords: barbados; caribbean; covid-19; global health diplomacy; grenada; jamaica; the university of the west indies; trinidad and tobago; vaccine hesitancy; west indies.

Figure 1. PRISMA flowchart of the systematic review for Caribbean COVID-19 scientific literature

The screening performed for this literature review follows guidelines in the PRISMA statement [7]. Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM) using a PRISMA template [7]. PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.

Figure 2. Total number of publications per country

Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 3. Results of thematic areas of COVID-19 research according to the modified WHO global research roadmap classification of COVID-19 research

R&D: Research and development; WHO: World Health Organization. Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 4. Journals in which COVID-19 research from the Caribbean was published

SN Compr Clin Med: SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine; Front Public Health: Frontiers in Public Health; Autops Case Rep: Autopsy and Case Reports; Health Promot Perspect: Health Promotion Perspectives; Glob Health Res Policy: Global Health Research and Policy; Int J Clin Pract: International Journal of Clinical Practice; Postgrad Med J: Postgraduate Medical Journal; Am J Trop Med Hyg: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 5. Affiliations of the Caribbean authors

MOH: Ministry of Health; AUIS: American University of Integrative sciences; UWI: University of the West Indies; PAHO: Pan American Health Organization; UOG: University of Guyana; HIC: Heart Institute of the Caribbean; MUA: Medical University of the Americas; UMHS: University Medical and Health Sciences; CHC: Caribbean Heart Care; USC: University of the Southern Caribbean; POSGH: Port of Spain General Hospital; JCCRI: Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute; SJSM: St. James University School of Medicine; SGU: St. George’s University; PAHO: Pan American Health Organization; UTT: University of Trinidad and Tobago; ASU: All Saint’s University School of Medicine; ANU: Antigua and Barbuda; ANG: Anguilla; BRB: Barbados; GUY: Guyana; GND: Grenada; SKN: St. Kitts and Nevis; SLU: St. Lucia; TNT: Trinidad and Tobago; JAM: Jamaica. Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 6. First author (n) by country

Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 7. Institutional affiliations of the first authors

MOH: Ministry of Health; AUIS: American University of Integrative Sciences; UWI: University of the West Indies; PAHO: Pan American Health Organization; UOG: University of Guyana; HIC: Heart Institute of the Caribbean; MUA: Medical University of the Americas; UMHS: University Medical and Health Sciences; CHC: Caribbean Heart Care; USC: University of the Southern Caribbean; POSGH: Port of Spain General Hospital; JCCRI: Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute; SJSM: St. James University School of Medicine; SGU: St. George’s University; PAHO: Pan American Health Organization; UTT: University of Trinidad and Tobago; ASU: All Saint’s University School of Medicine; ANU: Antigua and Barbuda; ANG: Anguilla; BRB: Barbados; GUY: Guyana; GND: Grenada; SKN: St. Kitts and Nevis; SLU: St. Lucia; TNT: Trinidad and Tobago; JAM: Jamaica. Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 8. Frequent first authors

Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 9. Last author (n) by country

Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 10. Institutional affiliations of the last authors

MOH: Ministry of Health; AUIS: American University of Integrative Sciences; UWI: University of the West Indies; PAHO: Pan American Health Organization; UOG: University of Guyana; HIC: Heart Institute of the Caribbean; MUA: Medical University of the Americas; UMHS: University Medical and Health Sciences; CHC: Caribbean Heart Care; USC: University of the Southern Caribbean; POSGH: Port of Spain General Hospital; JCCRI: Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute; SJSM: St. James University School of Medicine; SGU: St. George’s University; PAHO: Pan American Health Organization; UTT: University of Trinidad and Tobago; ASU: All Saint’s University School of Medicine; ANU: Antigua and Barbuda; ANG: Anguilla; BRB: Barbados; GUY: Guyana; GND: Grenada; SKN: St. Kitts and Nevis; SLU: St. Lucia; TNT: Trinidad and Tobago; JAM: Jamaica. Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 11. Frequent last authors

Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM).

Figure 12. VOSviewer overlay visualization of tag analysis of the published articles, observe the transition (of tags) from 2020 to 2022

Image credit: This figure was created by the corresponding author (KM) using the software VOSviewer based on the tags of the articles retrieved in the results.