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Global academic response to COVID ‐19: Cross‐sectional study
Author(s) -
Helliwell Jack A.,
Bolton William S.,
Burke Joshua R.,
Tiernan Jim P.,
Jayne David G.,
Chapman Stephen J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
learned publishing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.06
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-4857
pISSN - 0953-1513
DOI - 10.1002/leap.1317
Subject(s) - covid-19 , pandemic , medicine , middle east respiratory syndrome , family medicine , disease , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak
This study explores the response to COVID‐19 from investigators, editors, and publishers and seeks to define challenges during the early stages of the pandemic. A cross‐sectional bibliometric review of COVID‐19 literature was undertaken between 1 November 2019 and 24 March 2020, along with a comparative review of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) literature. Investigator responsiveness was assessed by measuring the volume and type of research published. Editorial responsiveness was assessed by measuring the submission‐to‐acceptance time and availability of original data. Publisher‐responsiveness was assessed by measuring the acceptance‐to‐publication time and the provision of open access. Three hundred and ninety‐eight of 2,835 COVID‐19 and 55 of 1,513 MERS search results were eligible. Most COVID‐19 studies were clinical reports ( n = 242; 60.8%). The submission‐to‐acceptance [median: 5 days (IQR: 3–11) versus 71.5 days (38–106); P < .001] and acceptance‐to‐publication [median: 5 days (IQR: 2–8) versus 22.5 days (4–48·5‐; P < .001] times were strikingly shorter for COVID‐19. Almost all COVID‐19 ( n = 396; 99.5%) and MERS ( n = 55; 100%) studies were open‐access. Data sharing was infrequent, with original data available for 104 (26.1%) COVID‐19 and 10 (18.2%) MERS studies ( P = .203). The early academic response was characterized by investigators aiming to define the disease. Studies were made rapidly and openly available. Only one‐in‐four were published alongside original data, which is a key target for improvement. Key points COVID‐19 publications show rapid response from investigators, specifically aiming to define the disease. Median time between submission and acceptance of COVID‐19 articles is 5 days demonstrating rapid decision‐making compared with the median of 71.5 days for MERS articles. Median time from acceptance to publication of COVID‐19 articles is 5 days, confirming the ability to introduce rapid increases at times of crisis, such as during the SARS outbreak. The majority of both COVID‐19 and MERS articles are available open‐access.