Impact of Canadian Primary Health Care Research and Researchers: A Citation Analysis

Context: As the place of first-contact and lifelong care, it is critically important to support primary health care (PHC) research. Although Canada is home to internationally recognized PHC researchers, little is known about their scholarly productivity and research impact.

Objective: This study analyzes and describes the research publication impact of PHC researchers in Canada. Specifically, we identify: a) the 30 most-cited Canadian PHC researchers; b) characteristics of these researchers; and (c) the most-cited peer-reviewed publications.

Study Design and Analysis: First-author citations identified the 30 most-cited researchers. For each researcher, data were analyzed on the number of publications and citations, research themes, and H-index. Data were collected on content, journal impact factor, and field weighted citation impact for publications with over 500 citations. The association between the number of first-author publications/citations and researchers’ characteristics was determined using point-serial correlation and Pearson correlation coefficients.

Dataset: Scopus database and targeted internet searches in March 2021.

Population Studied: Canadian PHC researchers.

Intervention/Instrument: A sequential nomination process identified 266 Canadian PHC researchers.

Outcome Measures: Number of publications and citations, research themes, and H-index.

Results: The 30 most cited PHC researchers produced on average 46 first-author publications and were cited 2077 times over an average of 29 years. Nineteen publications were cited more than 500 times. Over half of PHC researchers were men (63%). The majority (n=11) reside in Ontario, followed by Quebec (n=7), British Columbia (n=4) and Alberta (n=2). Most were clinician scientists with an academic appointment in Family Medicine (93%) and affiliated with five universities (83%). Duration of career was moderately associated with the number of first-author publications (0.44; P=0.02) and citations (0.4; P=0.03).

The research topics covered are diverse, focusing on professional education, clinician behaviour change, and patient relationships. Eleven publications reported the results of systematic reviews, and two other publications were also reviews.

Conclusions: Canadian PHC researchers are widely cited in the international medical literature. Further investments in PHC research could expedite and better inform decisions on meaningful primary health care transformation.