Needlestick injuries: a density-equalizing mapping and socioeconomic analysis of the global research

BACKGROUND: Needlestick injuries have caused a deleterious effect on the physical and mental health of millions of health-care workers over the past decades, being responsible for occupational infections with viruses such as HIV or hepatis C. Despite this heavy burden of disease, no concise studies have been published on the global research landscape so far. METHODS: We used the New Quality and Quantity Indices in Science platform to analyze global NSI research (n = 2987 articles) over the past 115 years using the Web of Science and parameters such as global versus country-specific research activities, semi-qualitative issues, and socioeconomic figures. RESULTS: Density-equalizing mapping showed that although a total of n = 106 countries participated in NSI research, large parts of Africa and South America were almost invisible regarding global participation in NSI research. Average citation rate (cr) analysis indicated a high rate for Switzerland (cr = 25.1), Italy (cr = 23.5), and Japan (cr = 19.2). Socioeconomic analysis revealed that the UK had the highest quotient Q(GDP) of 0.13 NSI-specific publications per bill. US-$ gross domestic product (GDP), followed by South Africa (Q(GDP) = 0.12). Temporal analysis of HIV versus hepatitis research indicated that NSI-HIV research culminated in the early 1990s, whereas NSI-hepatitis research increased over the observed period from the 1980s until the last decade. CONCLUSION: Albeit NSI research activity is generally increasing, the growth is asymmetrical from a global viewpoint. International strategies should be followed that put a focus on NSI in non-industrialized areas of the world. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00420-020-01547-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.