A Bibliometric analysis of alcohol and substance use prevention research in Africa

Background:  In response to international efforts to prevent alcohol and substance use we designed this study to give a bibliometric overview of research productivity in alcohol and substance use prevention in Africa. Methods:  Review of original research articles authored or co-authored by investigators from African countries on substance use prevention during the period 2008-2018 were done through retrieving them from, Web of Science (WoS), Ebscohost and Pubmed (National Library of Medicine). Key words related to alcohol and substance use were used to retrieve relevant literature.  Results:  Our search returned 3600 hits, with 34 studies retained. Included studies were conducted in 12 countries across the five regions in Africa (Central, East, North, South and West) and spreading over an 11-year period, 2008-2018. The annual published articles showed a significant rise from 2008 to 2018 with South Africa being ranked number one with a total of 9 (31%) published articles followed by Kenya 4 (13.8%). Bronwyn Myers from South Africa and Atwoli et al from Kenya were the most prolific authors. Age and gender were the most reported risk factors in the selected studies. Medical Research Council of South Africa, Stellenbosch University and Moi University are the active Institutions in alcohol and drug use prevention research. Conclusions: There were few collaborations among Africans themselves yet these collaborations would enhance future alcohol and substance use prevention research productivity. Currently, a wide spectrum of substance use prevention interventions have been implemented throughout the African continent, ranging from individual to community based interventions.