International collaboration in pharmacy practice research: A bibliometric analysis

Background: Although international collaborative research has demonstrated a series of benefits in different scientific disciplines, there is no information regarding international collaborative practices in pharmacy practice research.

Objectives: To map international collaborations published in pharmacy practice research journals between 2009 and 2018.

Methods: A set of pharmacy practice journals was objectively selected from a previously published mapping of pharmacy journals. The 25 journals that were more representative of the pharmacy practice category with higher class 5 chi-square in a descending hierarchical classification were selected. Non-reviewed journals, and those not published during the selected period, were excluded. Articles published between 2009 and 2018 were imported from Scopus. Only papers classified as "Articles" or "Reviews" were analyzed. The countries of the authors' affiliations were identified. International collaboration was defined as articles with two or more countries in the affiliations.

Results: The 19 journals analyzed published 22,738 papers, with 16,107 classified as Articles or Reviews. Differences in the international collaboration between journals existed. While a total of 13,214 papers were amenable to be authored in collaboration (2 or more authors, with affiliations recorded), only 1670 (12.6%) were published under international collaboration. A very slight positive trend in the international collaboration rate was found. No correlation existed between the Human Development Index, a composite index incorporating statistical measures of a country's average achievements in health, knowledge and a decent standard of living, and international collaboration.

Conclusions: Low rates of international collaboration were found in pharmacy practice research articles, although a slightly positive trend was identified. There was an overall association between collaboration and citations received, but no correlation with country development was found.