[Academic influence of institutes in field of schistosomiasis control and research in China].

Objective: To assess the academic influence of schistosomiasis control and research institutions in China.

Methods: The papers (including original articles and reviews) pertaining to schistosomiasis in Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) of Web of Science (WOS) during the period from 2002 to 2012 were searched. The number of published papers, h index and citation frequencies of the papers of Chinese institutes and authors were analyzed by a bibliometric method, and the academic influences of the institutes and authors were assessed according to the number of published papers and h index. In addition, the scientific knowledge network map was plotted by using the CiteSpace II software to analyze the inter-institution academic collaboration network.

Results: From 2002 to 2012, totally 610 papers pertaining to schistosomiasis were published by Chinese scholars, accounted for 16.7% of the published papers in global, and the quantity increased year by year. The number of published papers and h index of the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases (NIPD), China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) were 114 and 27, respectively, both of which were ranked at the first position among all the Chinese institutes, and in the academic collaboration network, the NIPD played a central and dominate part. Xiao-Nong Zhou with the h index of 17 became the outstanding academic leader in the research field of schistosomiasis control.

Conclusions: Both number of published papers in SCIE and h index of the Chinese institutes for schistosomiasis control are far inferior to the leading institutions in the world. It suggests that when strengthening the research and control of schistosomiasis, we should pay an attention to the output and sharing of the control experience and achievements.