The relationship between the publication language and its impact on public and collective health

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between scientific output published in a native language and its degree of exposure and impact on Public and Collective Health. Methods: This bibliometric study was carried out on the basis of the scientific production from the most prolific countries that are members of the SciELO Network, in Public and Collective Health, in the period 2011-2015. The data was collected from the SciELO Citation Index database (SciELO CI) and the citations were analysed by language and source. Findings: Brazilian publications in Portuguese had the greatest citation impact in the same language (55.7%), while its publications in English had 47.9% of impact in Portuguese and 34.4% in Spanish publications (34.4%). The impact on the national language is also significant to Colombian and Spanish publications. To Spain, the percentage of citing articles in Spanish for papers in the same language is more than twice that of its impact in English. To US-American articles, 42.5% of the citations are in a native language when published in English. Cuban and Peruvian publications presented more than 90% of their impact in the national language. In contrast, the USA and Brazil presented greater citation impact on other languages, especially when publishing in Spanish. Conclusion: The extent of the exposure of a publication language varies in accordance with the country´s scientific output. In the case of Brazilian and US-American publications, the effects on audiences in other languages can be measured by the citation impact. Furthermore, the degree of exposure offered by SciELO CI makes it useful for evaluation, particularly for publications in the national language.