Angarita-Pacheco Yessica, Urbano López Angie Daniela, Hernandez-Paez David A, Fiorillo-Moreno Ornella, Picón-Jaimes Yelson Alejandro, Beltrán Venegas Tulia, Rueda Olivella Alba Marina, Lozada-Martinez Ivan David, Bermúdez Valmore
Department of Health Sciences, Universidad de la Costa, Barranquilla, Colombia.
Center for Meta-Research and Scientometrics in Biomedical Sciences, Barranquilla, Colombia.
J Multidiscip Healthc. 2025 May 3;18:2497-2508. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S516383. eCollection 2025.
Medical errors represent a critical challenge to global healthcare systems, ranking among the leading causes of preventable morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to explore the evolution, characteristics, and correlation of research on medical errors and global health and research indicators.
A mixed-methods scientometrics study was conducted to analyse publications from 1865 to 2024 on medical errors from five databases. Correlational analyses were performed, focusing on publication trends, geographic and economic disparities, journal metrics, and thematic evolution. Multiple regression assessed relationships between bibliometric metrics and global indicators.
Five thousand seven hundred thirty-two publications related to medical errors were analysed. An annual growth rate of 1.49% was documented, with high-income countries contributing 83.32% of publications. The Americas accounted for the highest regional output, while Africa and Southeast Asia showed marginal contributions. Most studies were published in high-impact journals (46% in Q1), but only 22.98% were open access. Thematic analysis revealed a transition from error reporting to mitigation strategies. Correlations showed strong associations between intellectual property fees and publication volume (r²=0.75; p<0.001), while official development assistance negatively correlated with publication output (r²=-0.33; p<0.01). Disability-adjusted life years showed weak correlations with publication volume (r²=0.32; p<0.01) and journal impact (r²=0.14; p<0.001).
This study highlights significant inequities in global research on medical errors, with high-income countries dominating production. While thematic shifts suggest advancements in the field, the lack of representation from low- and middle-income countries and limited access to open-access publications pose barriers to global applicability.
医疗差错是全球医疗系统面临的一项严峻挑战，是可预防发病和死亡的主要原因之一。本研究旨在探讨医疗差错与全球健康及研究指标相关研究的演变、特征和相关性。
开展了一项混合方法的科学计量学研究，以分析1865年至2024年期间来自五个数据库的关于医疗差错的出版物。进行了相关性分析，重点关注出版趋势、地理和经济差异、期刊指标以及主题演变。多元回归评估了文献计量指标与全球指标之间的关系。
分析了5732篇与医疗差错相关的出版物。记录的年增长率为1.49%，高收入国家的出版物占83.32%。美洲地区的产出最高，而非洲和东南亚的贡献微乎其微。大多数研究发表在高影响力期刊上（46%发表在Q1区），但只有22.98%是开放获取的。主题分析显示从差错报告向缓解策略的转变。相关性分析表明，知识产权费用与出版量之间存在强关联（r²=0.75；p<0.001），而官方发展援助与出版产出呈负相关（r²=-0.33；p<0.01）。伤残调整生命年与出版量（r²=0.32；p<0.01）和期刊影响力（r²=0.14；p<0.001）的相关性较弱。
本研究突出了全球医疗差错研究中存在的重大不平等现象，高收入国家主导了研究成果产出。虽然主题转变表明该领域取得了进展，但低收入和中等收入国家缺乏代表性以及开放获取出版物的获取有限，对全球适用性构成了障碍。
