Cardiovascular Journal of Africa: Vol 27 No 3 (May/June 2016)

77 / 102

CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Volume 27, No 3, May/June 2016 AFRICA 199
without which the study would not have been possible. Second,
the use of co-authorship as a form of collaboration is limited
by the assumption of interaction between all pairs of authors.
The impact of co-authorship on future collaboration is not well
understood and requires further study. Lastly, the use of citation
measures as evidence of scientific impact has its limitations,
particularly with regard to the journals and databases used,
self-citation issues, and the unequal access to articles in different
journals due to the use or otherwise of an open-access policy.
In spite of these limitations, this study utilised a reliable data
source and methodologies that provided valuable evidence on
connectedness of countries involved in cardiovascular research
in SSA.
Conclusion
This study provides evidence on the state and scientific impact
of national-level collaboration in cardiovascular research in
SSA. It reveals the very low, but growing, research output
and collaboration in this field from the region, even as the
burden of cardiovascular disease continues to rise in SSA.
Research institutions and national governments in SSA need
to pro-actively work to build effective cardiovascular research
networks that include multiple countries in the region, as
a means of developing capacity in this field and improving
the quality and volume of research in cardiovascular disease
prevention and care. Creating and strengthening international
research networks in SSA is critical if the growing challenge
of a rising cardiovascular disease burden in the region is to be
addressed effectively.
This article was prepared by the author in his personal capacity. The opinions
expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of
Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions.
References
1. Mensah GA, Roth GA, Sampson UK, et al. Mortality from cardiovas-
cular diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis of
data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Cardiovasc J Afr
2015; 26(2 Suppl 1): S6–S10.
2. Mocumbi AO. Lack of focus on cardiovascular disease in sub-Saharan
Africa. Cardiovasc Diagn Ther 2012; 2(1): 74–77.
3. Nchinda TC. Research capacity development for CVD prevention: the
role of partnerships. Ethn Dis 2003; 13(2 Suppl 2): S40–44.
4. Whitworth JAG, Kokwaro G, Kinyanjui S, et al. Strengthening capacity
for health research in Africa. Lancet 2008; 372(9649): 1590–1593.
5. Adams J, Gurney K, Hook D, et al. International collaboration clusters
in Africa. Scientometrics 2014; 98(1): 547–556.
6. Leydesdorff L, Carley S, Rafols I. Global maps of science based on the
new Web-of-Science categories. Scientometrics 2013; 94(2): 589–593.
7. Onyancha O, Ocholla D. Country-wise collaborations in HIV/AIDS
research in Kenya and South Africa, 1980–2005. LIBRI 2007; 57:
239–24.
8. Onyancha O, Maluleka J. Knowledge production through collaborative
research in sub-Saharan Africa: how much do countries contribute to
each other’s knowledge output and citation impact?Scientometrics 2011;
87(2): 315–336.
9. Mêgnigbêto E. International collaboration in scientific publishing: the
case of West Africa (2001–2010). Scientometrics 2013; 96(3): 761–783.
10. Glänzel W, Schubert A. Analysing Scientific networks through
co-authorship. In: Moed HF, Glänzel W, Schmoch U, eds. Handbook
of Quantitative Science and Technology Research . Dordrecht, NLD:
Kluwer Academic, 2005: 257–276.
11. Adams J. Collaborations: The rise of research networks. Nature 2012;
490(7420): 335–336.
12. Leydesdorff L, Wagner CS. International collaboration in science and
the formation of a core group. J Informetr 2008; 2(4): 317–325.
13. Wasserman S, Faust K. Social Network Analysis, Methods and Analysis.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
14. Weingart S, Guo H, Bo¨rner K, et al. Science of Science (Sci2) Tool
User Manual. 2010 [cited 22 May 2015]; Available from: .
.
15. Bolaños-Pizarro M, Thijs B, Glänzel W. Cardiovascular research in
Spain. A comparative scientometric study. Scientometrics 2010; 85(2):
509–526.
16. The World Bank. Data: Sub-Saharan Africa. 2015 [cited 2015 22 May];
Available from:
17. Hansen D, Shneiderman B, Smith MA. Analyzing Social Media
Networks with NodeXL: Insights from a Connected World. Burlington,
MA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2009.
18. Rosmarakis ES, Vergidis PI, Soteriades ES, et al. Estimates of global
production in cardiovascular diseases research. Int J Cardiol 2005;
100(3): 443–449.
19. Wadesango N. Publish or perish: Impediments to research output and
publication. Int J Educat Sci 2014; 6(1): 57–63.
20. Kyvik S. Changing trends in publishing behaviour among university
faculty, 1980–2000. Scientometrics 2003; 58: 35–48.
21. Georghiou L. Global cooperation in research. Res Policy 1998; 27:
611–626.
22. Demeritt D, Lees L. Research relevance, ‘knowledge transfer’ and the
geographies of CASE studentship collaboration. Area 2005; 37(2):
127–137.
23. Anunobi CV, Emerole N. Motivation and encumbrances to research and
publication: The case of Nigerian library and information science (LIS)
practitioners. Educat Res Rev 2008; 3(2): 66–72.
24. Bishoff N. South–South research collaboration of countries in the
Southern African Development Community (SADC). Scientometrics
2010; 84: 481–503.
25. Boshoff N. Neo-colonialism and research collaboration in Central
Africa. Scientometrics . 2009; 81(2): 413–434.
26. Jeenab M, Pouris A. South African research in the context of Africa and
globally. S Afr J Sci 2008; 104(9–10): 351–355.
27. Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa. Heart of Africa
2015 [25 May 2015]; Available from:
heart-of-africa/.
28. Thienemann F, Dzudie A, Mocumbi AO, et al. Rationale and design
of the Pan African Pulmonary hypertension Cohort (PAPUCO) study:
implementing a contemporary registry on pulmonary hypertension in
Africa. Br Med J Open 2014; 4(10): e005950.
29. Damasceno A, Mayosi BM, Sani M, et al. The causes, treatment, and
outcome of acute heart failure in 1006 Africans from 9 countries. Arch
Intern Med 2012; 172(18): 1386–1394.
30. Pan-African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR). Pan-African Society of
Cardiology. PASCAR; 2015 [20 July 2015]; Available from: http://www.
.
31. Robertson KA, Volmink JA, Mayosi BM. Towards a uniform plan for
the control of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Africa –
the Awareness Surveillance Advocacy Prevention (ASAP) programme. S
Afr Med J 2006; 96(3 Pt 2): 241.