AUTHOR=Ogunfolaji Oloruntoba , Tangmi Adrien , Dada Olaoluwa Ezekiel , Sebopelo Lorraine Arabang , Sichimba Dawin , Djoutsop Olga M. , Ghaith Hazem S. , Cheserem Jebet Beverly , Negida Ahmed , Abu-Bonsrah Nancy , Kanmounye Ulrick Sidney , Esene Ignatius 

TITLE=Profiling African Health Journals: A Bibliometric Study

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 67 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604932

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2022.1604932

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Objectives
This study aimed to map out African health journals using publicly-available information on major databases.

Methods
The authors searched the African Journals Online Library (AJOL) and Scientific Journal Rankings (SJR) databases from their inception in 1998 and 1996 respectively to October 17, 2020, and identified African health journals. The authors extracted data on journal scope, PubMed indexation, open-access status, publishing fees, and bibliometrics. The data were compared using the Chi-square test and odds ratio. 

Results
AJOL had 173 health journals registered on its database. One hundred (57.8%) journals were actively publishing. Fifty-seven (32.9%) had a 1-star Journal Publishing Practices and Standards rating and 4 (2.3%) had 2-star ratings. 112 (64.7%) had no star rating. The journal scope spanned all aspects of health. Few health journals were PubMed (n=20) or SJR (n=22) indexed. On average, African journals had lower total publications (median [IQR]: 52.0 [29.0-74.8] vs. 140.0 [75.8-272.5]), total references (55.0 [19.5-74.8] vs. 160.0 [42.0-519.8]), and H-index (12.2 [5.0-14.0] vs. 39.1 [10.0-53.0]) (P=0.01) compared to other regions. 

Conclusion
African health journals face unique challenges that require targeted interventions.