Medical and Local Disease-Related Research on Nepal

A Study of Top 100 High Cited Paper During 1994-2023

Abstract

This study explores medical and local disease research in Nepal from 1994 to 2023, utilising selective publication metrics to reveal the nature, patterns, and trends in the field. A total of 5186 relevant papers were identified from the Scopus database by searching for ‘Nepal’ in both “Affiliation” and ‘Title’ tags within the ‘medicine’ subject category. From these, the top 100 High-Cited Papers (HCPs) were analysed using descriptive analysis and science mapping techniques. The analysis highlighted participation from 120 organisations and 449 authors, with 71 authors from Nepal contributing to a total of 14244 citations (CPP=142.22). Of the HCPs, 36 % received external funding, and 90 % featured international collaborations. Notably, the USA, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, and India emerged as the most significant contributors to these collaborations. The key research priorities identified included communicable/infectious diseases (33 papers), maternal, newborn, and child health (25 papers), non-communicable diseases
(24 papers), and nutrition and food safety (9 papers). The findings emphasize that the current research infrastructure and resources in Nepal are insufficient for independent national research efforts, underscoring the vital role of foreign collaborations in achieving national research objectives in the field of medical studies.