Factors related to biomedical research productivity in Asian countries

By and large, biomédical research is not a priority sector in Asian countries due to many factors. Lack of resources and trained manpower are certainly among these factors. We investigated the factors related to biomédical research productivity in Asian countries based on Medline data. The number of biomédical articles published in the indexed journals from each country of Asia and Oceania during 1990-1998 was used as a surrogate of total biomédical research productivity. Multiple regression analysis revealed that low gross national product per capita (p<0.013), insufficient number of physicians (p<0.047), and inadequate public spending on the health sector (p<0.049) were responsible for the meager number of biomédical publications in Asian countries.