The rising bibliometric profile of global neurosurgery

Authors

Emmanuel O. Mensah, Global Neurosurgery Initiative, Program for Global Surgery and Social Change, Department for Global Health and Social Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Neel H. Mehta, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Zsombor T. Gal, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Niels Pacheco-Barrios, Global Neurosurgery Initiative, Program for Global Surgery and Social Change, Department for Global Health and Social Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Radzi Hamzah, Global Neurosurgery Initiative, Program for Global Surgery and Social Change, Department for Global Health and Social Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Gail Rosseau, Department of Neurosurgery, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Seattle, WA, USA.
Dilan Ellegala, Department of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Gabrielle Luiselli, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Saksham Gupta, Global Neurosurgery Initiative, Program for Global Surgery and Social Change, Department for Global Health and Social Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Kee B. Park, Global Neurosurgery Initiative, Program for Global Surgery and Social Change, Department for Global Health and Social Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: kee_park@hms.harvard.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

11-25-2025

Journal

Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia

Volume

143

DOI

10.1016/j.jocn.2025.111725

Keywords

Bibliometric analysis; Global neurosurgery; LMICs; Publication disparities; Research trends

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The rising interest in global neurosurgery (GNS) is reflected in the apparent rise in related research output. This study aims to examine bibliometric trends related to the research subdiscipline of GNS within three leading neurosurgery journals, Journal of Neurosurgery (JNS), Neurosurgery, and World Neurosurgery. METHODS: We performed a bibliometric analysis on all GNS-related articles from the three journals published in the Web of Science database from 2005 to April 2024. Publication type, authorship demographics, citation counts, and research themes were extracted, with quantitative analyses performed using STATA. RESULTS: Our analysis included 569 articles, demonstrating a marked increase in publications over time, from 0.8 % in 2010-2014 to 1.1 % in 2015-2019 (p < 0.01), and 2.1 % in 2020-2024 (p < 0.001). The majority were published in World Neurosurgery (85.7 %), followed by Neurosurgery (7.6 %), and JNS (6.7 %). Peak publication years were 2024, 2022, and 2021. Authorship trends revealed that 52.4 % of first authors and 53.6 % of senior authors were from high-income countries (HICs), while 47.6 % of the articles resulted from mixed low-to-middle-income country (LMIC)-HIC collaborations. Notably, mixed collaborations with equitable authorship roles increased, highlighting a trend towards shared research leadership. Research themes were diverse, with a significant focus on healthcare systems and capacity building (36.3 %), health advocacy (16.1 %), and clinical outcomes and guideline (15.7 %). CONCLUSIONS: Bibliometric trends indicate the growing recognition and development of GNS, evidenced by increasing publication rates, diverse research themes, and significant collaborative efforts. However, challenges in equitable representation and specialty coverage remain. Continued support for LMIC researchers and global collaboration is essential to address systemic and clinical issues, ultimately advancing GNS and health equity.

APA Citation

Mensah, Emmanuel O.; Mehta, Neel H.; Gal, Zsombor T.; Pacheco-Barrios, Niels; Hamzah, Radzi; Rosseau, Gail; Ellegala, Dilan; Luiselli, Gabrielle; Gupta, Saksham; and Park, Kee B., "The rising bibliometric profile of global neurosurgery" (2025). GW Authored Works. Paper 8056.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/8056

Department

Neurological Surgery