Article type
Abstract
Background: The Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) is an inclusive repository of scientific literature contextualized within the unique landscape of Latin America and the Caribbean. Presently, LILACS encompasses 905 journals, 1,073 million records, and 650,000 full-text articles representing contributions from 30 countries [1]. LILACS is a recommended search resource in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews [2].
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of LILACS utilization in the search strategy of Cochrane Systematic Reviews (CSR) published in 2023 and if a participation of a Latin American author increases the odds of using LILACS.
Methods: We conducted a systematic data collection process for all CSR published in 2023. This involved extracting data about the adoption of LILACS in the search strategies, the nationalities of the authors and if there is a correlation between the authors being from Latin America and the inclusion of LILACS.
Results: We included 409 CSR. Of those, 10% (41/409) had at least one Latin American author and 90% (368/409) did not have any Latin American author. Additionally, 22% CSR (90/409) included LILACS in the search strategy, while 78% did not incorporate (319/409). The odds of considering LILACS are 5.74 higher in a CSR with at least one Latin American author when compared to a CSR without any Latin American author (95% confidence interval = 2.93 to 11.2).
Conclusions: The incorporation of LILACS in the search strategies of CSR published in 2023 was not widespread. Implementing initiatives, such as providing improved guidance on the structural aspects of the LILACS database, has the potential to augment its utilization. Considering at least one author from Latin America could also be a strategy to diminish regional disparity. This, in turn, could broaden the diversity of CSR, encompassing a more comprehensive representation of the Latin American scenario. Our results may also be replicated to other geographic regions.
Relevance and importance to patients: LILACS is the most important database from Latin America. Including LILACS is the search strategy of systematic reviews guarantees a more inclusive search, incorporating the unique context of patients from Latin America.
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of LILACS utilization in the search strategy of Cochrane Systematic Reviews (CSR) published in 2023 and if a participation of a Latin American author increases the odds of using LILACS.
Methods: We conducted a systematic data collection process for all CSR published in 2023. This involved extracting data about the adoption of LILACS in the search strategies, the nationalities of the authors and if there is a correlation between the authors being from Latin America and the inclusion of LILACS.
Results: We included 409 CSR. Of those, 10% (41/409) had at least one Latin American author and 90% (368/409) did not have any Latin American author. Additionally, 22% CSR (90/409) included LILACS in the search strategy, while 78% did not incorporate (319/409). The odds of considering LILACS are 5.74 higher in a CSR with at least one Latin American author when compared to a CSR without any Latin American author (95% confidence interval = 2.93 to 11.2).
Conclusions: The incorporation of LILACS in the search strategies of CSR published in 2023 was not widespread. Implementing initiatives, such as providing improved guidance on the structural aspects of the LILACS database, has the potential to augment its utilization. Considering at least one author from Latin America could also be a strategy to diminish regional disparity. This, in turn, could broaden the diversity of CSR, encompassing a more comprehensive representation of the Latin American scenario. Our results may also be replicated to other geographic regions.
Relevance and importance to patients: LILACS is the most important database from Latin America. Including LILACS is the search strategy of systematic reviews guarantees a more inclusive search, incorporating the unique context of patients from Latin America.