Call for More Research on Injury from the Developing World: Results of a Bibliometric Analysis (Report‪)‬

Background & objectives: Injury prevention is a daunting health challenge as public health systems particularly in the developing world are least prepared to respond to this issue. In 2005, an estimated 5.4 million people worldwide died from injuries over 90 per cent in low- and middle-income countries. The main objective of this bibliometric analysis was to document injury literature published on low- and middle- income countries, and also to quantify literature on road traffic injuries by countries before and after the World Health Day on Road Safety celebrated in April 2004. Methods: A systematic search was done using MeSH terms on PubMed. Papers on road traffic injuries were assessed by country/cluster and by publication date for two periods (March 2001-March 2004) and (April 2004-April 2007). The rate of articles published per million population was calculated. Finally, a comparison was made between disease burden in disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and quantum of papers published. The search was performed on April 29, 2007.