Advanced neonatal medicine in China: a quantitative analysis of research productivity and impact factors

Objectives: To summarize academic productivity of neonatal medicine in China and explore its relationship with health care workforce and activities. Methods: We retrospectively extracted data from national key clinical subspecialty proposals, and used accessible databases as Science Citation Index (SCI), PubMed, and National Natural Science Foundation of China. Results: Between 2008 and 2010, 61 newborn units at the most advanced level in 31 cities from 28 of 31 provincial districts in mainland China were included. Fifty-two national or international projects and 111 provincial projects were conducted. A total of 171 articles were listed in the SCI database; 23 patents were registered. There were 83 oral presentations in international conferences abroad. One national and 40 provincial government awards were received. Health workforce indexes, such as physicians with MD& PhD degrees, were significantly related to academic productivity. National or international projects (beta = .285, p<.001; 95% CI = 0.179, 0.391) and the number of newborn beds (beta = .005, p = .016; 95% CI = 0.001, 0.008) were two underlying factors to determine government awards (adjusted R-2 = .426). The 10 main cities for neonatal medicine research were also listed. Conclusion: In this study, we established the baseline information on neonatal medicine research in China, which could provide information for further practice.