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Israel Journal of Health Policy Research

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Open Access 01-12-2020 | Editorial

Opportunities for diversifying and enriching our article mix

Authors: Bruce Rosen, Stephen C. Schoenbaum, Avi Israeli

Published in: Israel Journal of Health Policy Research | Issue 1/2020

Abstract

As 2020 comes to a close, the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research (IJHPR) will soon be starting its tenth year of publication. This editorial compares data from 2012 (the journal’s first year of publication) and 2019 (the journal’s most recent full year of publication), regarding the journal’s mix of article types, topics, data sources and methods, with further drill-downs regarding 2019.

The analysis revealed several encouraging findings, including a broad and changing mix of topics covered. However, the analysis also revealed several findings that are less encouraging, including the limited number of articles which assessed national policy changes, examined changes over time, and/or made secondary use of large-scale survey data. These findings apparently reflect, to some extent, the mix of studies being carried out by Israeli health services researchers.

As the senior editors of the IJHPR we are interested in working with funders, academic institutions, the owners and principal users of relevant administrative databases, and individual scholars to further understand the factors influencing the mix of research being carried out, and subsequently published, by Israel’s health services research community. This deeper understanding could then be used to develop a joint plan to diversify and enrich health services research and health policy analysis in Israel. The plan should include a policy of ensuring improved access to data, to properly support information-based research.

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The IJHPR is in the second quartile in the Journal Citation Report’s public, environmental, and occupational health category, and in the third quartile in the JCR’s health policy and services category. In the public, environmental, and occupational health category, it is at the 53rd percentile (80/170), and in the health policy and services category it is at the 40th percentile (53/87).

While most of the journal’s empirical articles are written by Israeli authors and focus on Israeli health care, about one-half of the IJHPR’s articles have included at least one author from a non-Israeli institution. Many of these are commentaries that either highlight the international significance of an Israeli study or use the international experience to suggest possible next steps for Israel. In addition, authors from abroad sometimes collaborate with Israeli authors on empirical studies focused on Israeli health care or on studies comparing Israel with one or more countries. Overall, the IJHPR has published approximately 50 papers involving collaborations between an author based primarily at an Israeli institution and an author based at a non-Israeli institution [1].

Interestingly, of the 11 integrative articles the IJHPR published in 2019, 2 explored the impact of national program or policy changes and 1 explored the impact of a health plan program change.

Maccabi is Israel’s second largest health plan, with over 2 million members

Terem is a network of emergency medical centers

This tendency is clearly understandable given prevailing promotion criteria, and it is good for the Israeli health services research endeavor by elevating the visibility of Israeli researchers.

The Web of Science (WoS) includes 337 articles involving at least one author from an Israeli institution that were published in 2018 or 2019 in journals included in the WoS Health Policy and Services category. Among the 25 most cited articles in that grouping, 5 were published in the IJHPR.

This may be due, in part, to the availability of relatively large research grants in the US and Europe. But other factors, such as differences in research cultures and the ways in which research institutions are organized, are probably also playing a role.

Rosen B, Israeli A. Updates and reflections about the IJHPR, on the eve of its seventh year. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2017;6:70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-017-0196-6.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

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Abdel-Rahman N, Yoffe N, Siman-Tov M, et al. Achieving ethnic equality in the Israel trauma healthcare system: the case of the elderly population. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0294-8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Tiruneh A, Radomislensky I, Bahouth H, et al. Minorities and foreign born are disproportionately affected by injuries due to violence: an analysis based on a National Trauma Registry 2008–2017. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0297-5.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Lauterbach R, Joseph M, Haklai Z, et al. Geographic variation of hysterectomy rates in the Israeli health care system during the years 2007–2016. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0321-9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Na’amnih W, Katz R, Goren S, et al. Correlates of gastroenterology health-services utilization among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease: a large database analysis. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:66. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0335-3.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Zisk-Rony RY, Weissman C, Weiss YG. Mechanical ventilation patterns and trends over 20 years in an Israeli hospital system: policy ramifications. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0291-y.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

National Institute for Health Policy (2016). Health Data – A Call to Order. Tel Hashomer, Israel. (Hebrew).

Politzer E, Shmueli A, Avni S. The economic burden of health disparities related to socioeconomic status in Israel. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0306-8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

10.

Glatman-Freedman A, Amir K, Dichtiar R, et al. Factors associated with childhood influenza vaccination in Israel: a cross-sectional evaluation. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:82. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0349-x.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

11.

Simhi M, Sarid O, Cwikel J. Preferences for mental health treatment for post-partum depression among new mothers. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:84. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0354-0.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

12.

Shahrabani S. Factors affecting oral examinations and dental treatments among older adults in Israel. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2019;8:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-019-0312-x.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

13.

Bodas M, Peleg K. Income assurances are a crucial factor in determining public compliance with self-isolation regulations during the COVID-19 outbreak – cohort study in Israel. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2020;9:54. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-020-00418-w.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

14.

Orenstein L, Chetrit A, Oberman B, et al. Factors associated with disparities in out-of-pocket expenditure on dental care: results from two cross-sectional national surveys. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2020;9:30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-020-00387-0.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

15.

Levin L, Amram Levy A. National Reforms in mental health and social care services: comparative, Text-Based Explorations of Consumer Involvement and Service Transparency. Community Ment Health J. 2020;56:42–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00499-1.CrossRefPubMed

16.

Ashkenazi Y, MGordon M, Rosen B. Using financial incentives to attract medical residents to the periphery: the Israeli experience. Health Policy. 2019;123:80–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.10.006.CrossRefPubMed

17.

Hayek S, et al. Do Israeli health promoting schools contribute to students’ healthy eating and physical activity habits? Health Promot Int. 2017;34:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dax066.CrossRef

18.

Brammli-Greenberg S, Glazer J, Waitzberg R. Modest risk-sharing significantly reduces health plans’ incentives for service distortion. Eur J Health Econ. 2019;20:1359–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-019-01102-w.CrossRefPubMed

19.

Tur-Sinai A, Georgia C, Giovani L. Changes in the provision of family care to frail older people in Familistic welfare states: lessons from Israel and Italy. Journal of Aging and Health Article first published online: September. 2019;21(2019). https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264319872114.

20.

Karlsson T, Makela P, Tigerstedt C, Keskimakj I. The road to the alcohol act 2018 in Finland: a conflict between public health objectives and neoliberal goals. Health Policy. 2020;124:1–6 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851019302544.CrossRef

21.

Grignon, M., Longo, C.J., Marchildon,G.P., Officer, S. The 2018 decision to establish an advisory council on adding pharmaceuticals to universal health coverage in Canada. Health Policy, 124, 7–11, (2020). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851019302519.

22.

Daw JR, Winkelman TNA, Dalton VK, Kozhimannil KB, Admon LK. Medicaid expansion improved perinatal insurance continuity for low-income women. Health Aff. 2000;39:1531–9. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01835.CrossRef

23.

Brown TT, Ahn C, Huang H, Ibrahim Z. Reducing the prevalence of low-back pain by reducing the prevalence of psychological distress: evidence from a natural experiment and implications for health care providers. Health Serv Res. 2020;55:631–41 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1475-6773.13557.CrossRef

Title: Opportunities for diversifying and enriching our article mix
Authors: Bruce Rosen
Stephen C. Schoenbaum
Avi Israeli
Publication date: 01-12-2020
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: Israel Journal of Health Policy Research / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 2045-4015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-020-00427-9

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Opportunities for diversifying and enriching our article mix

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