IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v129y2024i4d10.1007_s11192-024-04980-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Priorities of health research in India: evidence of misalignment between research outputs and disease burden

Author

Listed:
  • Avinash Kumar

    (Indian Institute of Science)

  • Moumita Koley

    (Indian Institute of Science)

  • Alfredo Yegros

    (Leiden University)

  • Ismael Rafols

    (Leiden University)

Abstract

This study examines whether and how India’s research efforts address the country’s health needs. It does so by investigating the degree of alignment between the burden of diseases in India and research efforts being undertaken in health and biomedical sciences by Indian institutions. WHO data from Global Health Estimates on Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) is used as the indicator of disease burden, and the number of publications on Web of Science as the proxy measure of research efforts. We find that the alignment between publications and DALYs in India is much lower than in high-income countries (HICs) and considerably lower than in countries such as China or Brazil. This is due to some areas of disease having little research efforts even though they have a high burden, while others receive large amounts of attention in spite of a low burden. For example, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases contribute to ~ 23% of the disease burden in India but only have a ~ 6% share of the total publications. In contrast, cancers contribute to ~ 5% of the burden, while their publication share is almost 25%. We discuss some major driving factors behind this misalignment, such as market demand associated with diseases prevalent in HICs, the academic prestige of certain disease areas, and funding opportunities in global health. We also explore whether the disparity is due to weaknesses in healthcare delivery systems in India (e.g., in neonatal conditions) rather than a lack of research.

Suggested Citation

  • Avinash Kumar & Moumita Koley & Alfredo Yegros & Ismael Rafols, 2024. "Priorities of health research in India: evidence of misalignment between research outputs and disease burden," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(4), pages 2433-2450, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:129:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11192-024-04980-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-024-04980-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-024-04980-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-024-04980-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ciarli, Tommaso & Ràfols, Ismael, 2019. "The relation between research priorities and societal demands: The case of rice," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 949-967.
    2. Zhang, Lin & ZHAO, Wenjing & Liu, Jianhua & Sivertsen, Gunnar & HUANG, Ying, 2020. "Do national funding organizations properly address the diseases with the highest burden? - Observations from China and the UK," SocArXiv ckpf8, Center for Open Science.
    3. Andy Stirling, 2014. "Towards Innovation Democracy? Participation, Responsibility and Precaution in Innovation Governance," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-24, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    4. Carla López Piñeiro & Diana Hicks, 2015. "Reception of Spanish sociology by domestic and foreign audiences differs and has consequences for evaluation," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(1), pages 78-89.
    5. Lin Zhang & Wenjing Zhao & Jianhua Liu & Gunnar Sivertsen & Ying Huang, 2020. "Do national funding organizations properly address the diseases with the highest burden?: Observations from China and the UK," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(2), pages 1733-1761, November.
    6. Leslie A Gillum & Christopher Gouveia & E Ray Dorsey & Mark Pletcher & Colin D Mathers & Charles E McCulloch & S Claiborne Johnston, 2011. "NIH Disease Funding Levels and Burden of Disease," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(2), pages 1-9, February.
    7. repec:osf:socarx:ckpf8_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Confraria, Hugo & Wang, Lili, 2020. "Medical research versus disease burden in Africa," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    9. Matthew L. Wallace & Ismael Rafols, 2015. "Research portfolios in science policy: moving from financial returns to societal benefits," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-10, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    10. Wouter van de & Alfredo Yegros-Yegros & Tim Willemse & Ismael Rafols, 2023. "Priorities in research portfolios: exploring the need for upstream research in cardiometabolic and mental health," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 50(6), pages 961-976.
    11. David Hsiehchen & Magdalena Espinoza & Antony Hsieh, 2017. "Disease burden and the advancement of biomedical knowledge," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(1), pages 321-333, January.
    12. Josie Coburn & Ohid Yaqub & Joanna Chataway, 2023. "Targeting research to address societal needs: what can we learn from 30 years of targeting neglected diseases?," Chapters, in: Benedetto Lepori & Ben Jongbloed & Diana Hicks (ed.), Handbook of Public Funding of Research, chapter 10, pages 156-171, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Gelin Xu & Zhizhong Zhang & Qiushi Lv & Yun Li & Ruidong Ye & Yunyun Xiong & Yongjun Jiang & Xinfeng Liu, 2014. "NSFC Health Research Funding and Burden of Disease in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-10, November.
    14. James A Evans & Jae-Mahn Shim & John P A Ioannidis, 2014. "Attention to Local Health Burden and the Global Disparity of Health Research," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(4), pages 1-9, April.
    15. Leslie Chan & Barbara Kirsop & Subbiah Arunachalam, 2011. "Towards Open and Equitable Access to Research and Knowledge for Development," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-4, March.
    16. Mary Moran & Javier Guzman & Anne-Laure Ropars & Alina McDonald & Nicole Jameson & Brenda Omune & Sam Ryan & Lindsey Wu, 2009. "Neglected Disease Research and Development: How Much Are We Really Spending?," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(2), pages 1-10, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yaqub, Ohid & Coburn, Josie & Moore, Duncan A.Q., 2024. "Research-targeting, spillovers, and the direction of science: Evidence from HIV research-funding," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(8).
    2. Confraria, Hugo & Ciarli, Tommaso & Noyons, Ed, 2024. "Countries' research priorities in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    3. Ohid Yaqub & Javier A Luna & Duncan Aq Moore & Alfredo Yegros-Yegros, 2022. "Responding to a disease with resources from other diseases: Evidence from Zika vaccine research dynamics [Protective Efficacy of Multiple Vaccine Platforms against Zika Virus Challenge in Rhesus Mo," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(6), pages 942-950.
    4. Hoekman, Jarno & Rake, Bastian, 2024. "Geography of authorship: How geography shapes authorship attribution in big team science," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    5. Wallace, Matthew L. & Ràfols, Ismael, 2018. "Institutional shaping of research priorities: A case study on avian influenza," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10), pages 1975-1989.
    6. Ciarli, Tommaso & Ràfols, Ismael, 2019. "The relation between research priorities and societal demands: The case of rice," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 949-967.
    7. Wenting Yang & Jiantong Zhang & Ruolin Ma, 2020. "The Prediction of Infectious Diseases: A Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-19, August.
    8. repec:osf:socarx:ckpf8_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Lin Zhang & Wenjing Zhao & Jianhua Liu & Gunnar Sivertsen & Ying Huang, 2020. "Do national funding organizations properly address the diseases with the highest burden?: Observations from China and the UK," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(2), pages 1733-1761, November.
    10. Yongmei Bai & Jian Du, 2022. "Measuring the impact of health research data in terms of data citations by scientific publications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(12), pages 6881-6893, December.
    11. Daniele Rotolo & Michael Hopkins & Nicola Grassano, 2023. "Do funding sources complement or substitute? Examining the impact of cancer research publications," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 74(1), pages 50-66, January.
    12. Janzwood, Scott, 2021. "R&D priority-setting for global catastrophic risks: The case of the NASA planetary defense mission," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(6).
    13. Geziel Fernandez Tuesta & Esteban Fernandez Tuesta & Luciano Antônio Digiampietri & Dominik Hartmann, 2025. "The diversity and (dis-)similarity of Brazilian universities’ research portfolios," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 130(1), pages 237-266, January.
    14. Lutz Bornmann & Robin Haunschild & Vanash M Patel, 2020. "Are papers addressing certain diseases perceived where these diseases are prevalent? The proposal to use Twitter data as social-spatial sensors," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, November.
    15. Elizabeth S. Vieira, 2024. "Research collaboration and knowledge development in Africa: the case of neonatal conditions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(4), pages 2407-2431, April.
    16. Zhang, Lin & ZHAO, Wenjing & Liu, Jianhua & Sivertsen, Gunnar & HUANG, Ying, 2020. "Do national funding organizations properly address the diseases with the highest burden? - Observations from China and the UK," SocArXiv ckpf8, Center for Open Science.
    17. Madsen, Emil Bargmann & Andersen, Jens Peter, 2024. "Funding priorities and health outcomes in Danish medical research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 360(C).
    18. Yaqub, Ohid & Coburn, Josie & Moore, Duncan A.Q., 2023. "Knowledge spillovers from HIV research-funding," SocArXiv gcuhn, Center for Open Science.
    19. Eduardo Martínez-Martínez & María Luisa Zaragoza & Elmer Solano & Brenda Figueroa & Patricia Zúñiga & Juan P Laclette, 2012. "Health Research Funding in Mexico: The Need for a Long-Term Agenda," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(12), pages 1-11, December.
    20. Xiaoyan Pan & Hui Wang & Zan Ouyang & Zifan Song & Hongjin Long & Wang Luo, 2022. "Scientometric Analysis on Rice Research under Drought, Waterlogging or Abrupt Drought-Flood Alternation Stress," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, September.
    21. Nicola Grassano & Daniele Rotolo & Joshua Hutton & Frédérique Lang & Michael M. Hopkins, 2017. "Funding Data from Publication Acknowledgments: Coverage, Uses, and Limitations," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(4), pages 999-1017, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    India; Heath research; DALYs; Health policy; Public health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • Y10 - Miscellaneous Categories - - Data: Tables and Charts - - - Data: Tables and Charts

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:129:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11192-024-04980-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.