Assessment of h-index and associated demographic and academic parameters for academic hematologists in Canada

Daniel Josué Guerra Ordaz; Jean Roy; Imran Ahmad; Mohammed Kaouache; Brandon Ramchatesingh; Sera Whitelaw; Anna Nikonova; Chris Bredeson; Ivan V Litvinov

doi:10.3389/fmed.2024.1457366

Assessment of h-index and associated demographic and academic parameters for academic hematologists in Canada

Front Med (Lausanne). 2024 Aug 30:11:1457366. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1457366. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Daniel Josué Guerra Ordaz¹, Jean Roy², Imran Ahmad², Mohammed Kaouache³, Brandon Ramchatesingh¹, Sera Whitelaw¹, Anna Nikonova⁴, Chris Bredeson⁵, Ivan V Litvinov⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
² Département de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
³ The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Division of Hematology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁵ Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁶ Division of Dermatology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: The h-index measures researchers' productivity by assessing simultaneously the number of publications and citations. We aimed to assess the factors that could influence h-index for hematologists practicing in academic institutions in Canada.

Methods: We identified universities with a hematology residency training programs/fellowships using the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) website. We obtained the listing of faculty, sex, and academic ranks by consulting faculty directories or by contacting respective departments/universities, when directories were unavailable or incomplete. For each faculty member, we obtained years since Royal College of Physicians' and Surgeons of Canada certification or equivalent, receipt of Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) grants within the last 5 years, attainment of graduate degrees (M.Sc., Ph.D., other), and the h-index.

Results: The data included information collected from 372 individuals (171 females) across Canada (Atlantic Provinces: 13; Quebec: 89; Ontario: 182; Prairie Provinces: 59; British Columbia: 29). Univariate analysis showed that male sex, practicing in British Columbia, longer duration since specialty certification, completion of an M.Sc. or a Ph.D. degree, attaining a higher academic rank and receiving CIHR funding were associated with higher h-index. The results of the univariate analysis were concordant with the multivariate analysis, except that practicing in Ontario was also associated with higher h-index.

Conclusion: This study provides details on the h-index curve/parameters for academic productivity of hematologists in Canada. Importantly, based on multivariate analysis, higher h-index was associated with male sex, location of practice, years since certification, attainment of M.Sc. or Ph.D. degrees, academic rank, and recent CIHR funding.

Keywords: CIHR funding; Canada; academia; h-index; hematology; regional analysis; sex.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research is funded by the CIHR Project Scheme Grant #426655 to Dr. Litvinov and by the Fonds de la recherche du Québec – Santé (296643).