International Collaboration in Medical Research in Latin America and the Caribbean (2003-2007)

This paper characterises the patterns of international medical research in Central and South America. The objective is to ascertain countries' capacity to establish intra- and extra-regional scientific collaboration. The methodology used combines bibliometric techniques and social network analysis. Publication patterns are characterised by production volume, specialisation, visibility and collaboration through Scopus database. The results show the recent increase in Central and South American medical research production and citations has raised the region’s presence and participation in the international scientific arena. Although this growth is partly associated with the inclusion of new journals in the Scopus database, the rise in the number of medical research papers has doubled the overall increase. When output is broken down by inter- and extra-regional collaboration, the growth rate proves to be slightly higher for the former than the latter. The “scientific dependence” of small or developing countries would explain their high collaboration rates and impact, since their output is essentially marginal and anecdotal. Hence the term “satellite countries.” Advanced countries account for most of the world’s output and citations. Assuming that impact (citations per paper) reflects the use made by researchers of previously generated knowledge, the evidence shows that the major producers use the knowledge generated by their own or neighbouring countries. This would explain why impact is so highly concentrated in the most productive regions. The need to incentivise intraregional relationships must be stressed, but without establishing boundaries, i.e., international initiatives should also be supported. The possible influence of geographic, idiomatic and cultural proximity is likewise identified. Lastly, the conclusions are discussed, along with proposals for future research.