A new tool for evaluating health equity in academic journals; the Diversity Factor

This article argues that the current approach to evaluating a journal’s impact is a fragile metric that is prone to being skewed by outlier values and that does not speak to a researcher’s contribution to furthering health outcomes for all populations. The article proposes the implementation of a Diversity Factor to fulfill this need and supplement the current metrics. The Diversity Factor is composed of four key elements: dataset properties, author country, author gender and departmental affiliation. The article reveals the results of a test using the Diversity Factor for evaluation: In total, 130,721 papers over a period of more than 20 years were identified from 7,462 journals where significant underrepresentation of female authors and authors from low- and middle-income countries was demonstrated.

Published August 14, 2023

Sign up to receive our monthly Research Roundup email, which offers a selection of new public health research from major journals.