Biomedical Research in Ecuador

Abstract

This perspective manuscript is based on a review of the most up-to-date bibliometrics on scientific production in Ecuador, particularly in the area of ​​biomedicine, and on the experience of the authors, active academics and researchers within the National Science and Technology System of Ecuador. From the outset, it should be noted that there is limited information on the topic of scientific production in our country. In the last decade, only four scientific articles on the topic have been published. The most recent publication reports data on scientific production in Ecuador between 1920 and 2021. 1 During this century of analysis, the most significant production began in 1995 (98.82% of scientific production) and after the enactment of the Organic Law on Higher Education in 2010. 2 Only 3,225 publications were reported as original publications that were produced in Ecuador and were related to biomedicine. It is interesting to note that the publication characteristics identified as clinical research (52.43%), public health (37.79%), and basic sciences (9.77%) reflect the ease of preparing manuscripts rather than the need to conduct research related to the health problems of our country. Thus, prevalence studies are the most common publications, and randomized clinical trials, studies that provide the best scientific evidence, are the scarcest and show a tendency to decrease over time. 1 In this sense, the limited production of publications in basic science, cellular and molecular studies, and translational research should also be highlighted; studies at the molecular level require highly trained scientists, are expensive, but are critical for identifying the physiological and pathological mechanisms of biology. 3