GLOBAL COLLABORATION IN UROLOGICAL SURGERY RESEARCH BETWEEN HIGH- AND LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES: A BIBLIOMETRIC SCOPING REVIEW.

Objective: To assess collaborations in global urological surgery research and trends in authorship representation for studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) METHODS: A systematic bibliometric scoping review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines to outline global collaboration patterns in urological surgery research. Literature searches in PubMed® and Scopus® included articles published from inception to January 1, 2024. Articles were included if they described urological surgery research involving a high-income country (HIC) conducted exclusively in LMICs. Articles were excluded if unrelated to urological surgery or if a collaboration between HICs and LMICs was not outlined. Data analysis was conducted from February to April 2024.

Results: A total of 1,777 peer-reviewed articles were identified and 108 studies met inclusion criteria. Most articles (89.8%) were published in 2009 or later. A significant majority of studies (81.5%) involved at least one author from the LMIC of focus and were considered collaborative. First and senior authors predominantly originated from HICs, particularly in studies based in low-income countries (88.2% and 94.1%). 52 articles (48.15%) were focused on educational initiatives, followed by training (23%) and humanitarian efforts (13%). Sub-Saharan Africa contributed the largest share of studies (19%), while Latin America and the Caribbean had the highest collaboration rates (20%). Endourology was the most frequently studied field across the research areas.

Conclusion: This study highlights an upward trend in international urological surgery research with collaborative partnerships. These findings set a benchmark for promoting and sustaining equitable participation in global urological surgery research based in LMICs.