diseases
Review
Did Ghana Do Enough? A Scientometric Analysis of COVID-19
Research Output from Ghana within the African Context
Akua K. Yalley 1,†, Selasie Ahiatrogah 2,†, Akuba B. Yalley 3, Isaac K. Yankson 4, Nicholas I. Nii-Trebi 1,*
and Abena Asefuaba Yalley 5,*
1 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, University of
Ghana, Korle Bu, Accra P.O. Box 143, Ghana
2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, Pan African University of Life and Earth
Sciences Institute, University of Ibadan, Ibadan P.O. Box 22133, Nigeria
3 Department of Mining Engineering, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa P.O. Box 237, Ghana
4 CSIR-Building and Road Research Institute, Kumasi P.O. Box UP40, KNUST, Ghana
5 Zukunftskolleg, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz,
78464 Konstanz, Germany
* Correspondence: ninii-trebi@ug.edu.gh (N.I.N.-T.); abena.yalley@uni-konstanz.de (A.A.Y.)
† These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated worldwide research efforts to provide knowledge
about the disease. Yet little is known about how Ghana contributed to this critical knowledge
production. This scientometric analysis was conducted to ascertain Ghana’s COVID-19 research
output within the African context to gain understanding and identify potential future directions. The
study retrieved relevant research, spanning 2019 to 2022, from the Scopus database in December 2022.
The retrieved data were assessed using various established indices, including collaboration patterns,
productive institutions, citation patterns, and major research sponsors, among others. Ghana came
seventh in Africa with a total of 1112 publications. For international collaborations, the United
States and the United Kingdom were the major partners, while South Africa was the main African
collaborator with Ghana. Out of the top 21 most productive authors, 85.7% were males and 14.3%
were females, demonstrating a great gender gap in research output in Ghana. Although Ghana has
Citation: Yalley, A.K.; Ahiatrogah, S.; made some contributions to the global COVID-19 research output, there are few intra-continental
Yalley, A.B.; Yankson, I.K.; Nii-Trebi, research collaborations, which limits Africa’s overall research output. Our study demonstrates a
N.I.; Yalley, A.A. Did Ghana Do critical need for the Ghanaian government to prioritize research and funding and address barriers to
Enough? A Scientometric Analysis of women’s research productivity.
COVID-19 Research Output from
Ghana within the African Context.
Keywords: COVID-19; research; productivity; scientometric analysis; Ghana
Diseases 2023, 11, 56. https://
doi.org/10.3390/diseases11020056
Academic Editor: Maurizio Battino
Received: 9 February 2023 1. Introduction
Revised: 16 March 2023 SARS-CoV-2, a new betacoronavirus, was found to be the cause of a respiratory illness
Accepted: 20 March 2023 outbreak in December 2019 in Wuhan, China [1]. The Chinese Center for Disease Control
Published: 1 April 2023 and Prevention identified the causal agent from throat swab samples, and the World
Health Organization (WHO) later named the infection coronavirus disease (COVID-19) [2].
Within a few weeks after its outbreak, the virus rapidly spread around the world. Whereas
80% of those that are infected develop mild-to-moderate symptoms that do not require
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. hospitalization, less than 20% develop severe symptoms and become critically ill [3,4].
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The first symptoms typically include shortness of breath, fever, and dry cough [2]. Other
This article is an open access article symptoms that have been associated with the illness include, but are not limited to, fatigue,
distributed under the terms and anosmia, ageusia, expectoration, diarrhea, and pneumonia [5–7].
conditions of the Creative Commons
Since mid-February 2020, when the first COVID-19 case (confirmed using PCR testing)
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
in Africa was reported, 57 African countries and territories have been afflicted by the
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/). pandemic. Globally, over 600-million cases of COVID-19 have been recorded. In addition,
Diseases 2023, 11, 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases11020056 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diseases
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 2 of 16
there were over 258,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in Africa by the end of December 2022 [8].
As of 31st December 2022, the total number of recorded COVID-19 cases in Ghana since
March 2020 was 171,065, with 1461 COVID-19-related deaths [9]. Despite the fact that the
disease was generally less severe in Ghana, it still had an impact on a number of areas,
ranging from health to economic activities [10–13].
For many years, scientific publications have served as the primary means by which
knowledge is communicated to both scientists as well as the general public. Thus, the
rapid dissemination of information by scientists and stakeholders is essential for the
timely implementation of measures to lessen the multiple effects of COVID-19 [14,15].
Kana et al. reiterated that prior to the increase in the occurrence of emerging illnesses
in Africa, the continent’s contributions to the international output of scientific or peer
reviewed publications may have been limited due to African institutions having inadequate
investments in research and capacity building [16]. In fact, resource limitations in Africa
and other developing countries do not only affect publication output, they also affect tools
used in researching diseases and even tools for disease diagnostics [17]. This can have
a negative impact on the quality of lives of citizens since significant issues specific to a
particular area might take a while before coming to light. In recent times, health researchers
in Africa are now positioned to be pivotal in clinical trials and, especially, in research
on COVID-19 in Africa owing to international resources being deployed during disease
outbreaks. Thus, the current pandemic may offer opportunities for enhancing research
output in general. Like many other countries in the developing world, the pandemic
significantly afforded the capacity for Africa to develop locally relevant knowledge and
innovations [18,19]. Research organizations in Africa are in an advantageous position to
enhance as well as maintain international collaborations in order to provide a more precise
description of what is happening across the continent as the pandemic progresses.
As a developing nation, the challenges faced by Ghana when it comes to COVID-19
research are not much different from those faced in other kinds of research. Some of the
challenges include limited funding and infrastructure, denial of access to research sites
with potentially rich sources of information, and heightened bureaucracy when it comes to
accessing samples and accompanying information relating to the topic of interest [20–22].
Other challenges include the lack of interest of potential study participants due to the
failure to understand the positive impact the obtained data could bring to Ghana and,
subsequently, the world at large. In addition, the lack of trust and lack of common values
when it comes to collaboration [21,23] are challenges. In spite of the challenges and limited
resources, researchers strive to work both locally and with international collaborators to
publish their work. Yet little is known about the contributions of Ghanaian researchers
to the global research output and the dynamics of COVID-19 research in Ghana. In times
of a pandemic, a detailed assessment of a nation’s response and control efforts is crucial
for informing global success. Scientific research publication output remains an essential
denominator in measuring such a response. To that end, a scientometric analysis (which
involves assessing the research effect by quantifying the publication output of a body
of knowledge, taking into consideration the impact of research institutions, sponsorship
sources, academic journals, and authors, among other parameters on the defined subject
of study) constitutes a useful instrument for measuring a pandemic response in terms of
the disease-related publication output [24]. This study employed a scientometric analysis
technique to evaluate the contributions of Ghana to COVID-19 research within the African
context between 2019 and 2022. This was done with the view to throw light on the research
dynamics with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, identify areas that need attention, and
generate information that may feed into national policy on research aimed at controlling
the pandemic.
2. Materials and Methods
Relevant data on COVID-19 and related research in Ghana and other most productive
African countries (countries with the largest number of COVID-19 publications) from 2019–
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 3 of 16
2022 were retrieved from Scopus International Database [http://www.scopus.com/search/
accessed on 28 December 2022] and analyzed. All data analyzed and reported here were
based on what was retrieved as of 28th December 2022. Scopus was chosen because for
peer reviewed literature, it is the largest citation and abstracting database, and it possesses
tools that are suitable for the performance of scientometric analysis of this nature [25–27].
Scopus and Microsoft Excel were used for data analysis. Figures were generated in Scopus
and Microsoft Excel (2016 version), and Tables were prepared in Microsoft Word (2016
version) based on information obtained from Scopus and Microsoft Excel analysis. For
parameters with ranked results, automated analysis by scopus typically produced the top
15 results. Where ties made it necessary to go beyond 15, manual selection and analysis
using Microsoft excel were performed.
2.1. Search Strategy for Most Productive Countries in Africa
For data on the most productive African countries in COVID-19 research, the search
string below was used to first retrieve global data on COVID-19 research:
TITLE-ABS-KEY(coronavirus OR COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2) AND PUBYEAR > 2018
AND PUBYEAR < 2023
All countries retrieved were then ranked using an automated analysis option in
Scopus per the number of COVID-19 publications. Then, the most productive African
countries were selected by eliminating non-African countries. In addition, the dataset on
the most productive African countries was confirmed by a separate advance query string
with specific African countries. For example, data on Nigeria were retrieved using the
string below:
(TITLE-ABS-KEY (coronavirus OR COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2) AND AFFIL(Nigeria))
AND PUBYEAR > 2018 AND PUBYEAR < 2023
2.2. Search Strategy for COVID-19 Data on Ghana
An advanced search strategy that involved “coronavirus” OR “COVID-19” OR “SARS-
CoV-2” as the keywords in the “Title”, “Abstract”, and “Keywords” fields together with
“Ghana” in the “affiliation field” and limiting the data range from 2019 to 2022 was used for
the purpose of searching for data on Ghana. The exact search strategy that was used in the
advanced search in order to extract data about Ghana is as presented in the format below:
(TITLE-ABS-KEY(coronavirus OR COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2) AND AFFIL(Ghana))
AND PUBYEAR > 2018 AND PUBYEAR < 2023
The primary search string results also provided information on international collab-
orations, publication types, most productive institutions, the most productive authors,
journals, and funding sources, among others that were used for analysis.
2.3. Search Strategy for Various Subject Areas Related to Ghana COVID-19 Research
With regards to data retrieval and analyses of various subject areas related to Ghana,
the following search strategy was restricted to specific topics, such as the advanced search
string below to collect data on medicine:
(TITLE-ABS-KEY (coronavirus OR COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2) AND AFFIL (Ghana))
AND PUBYEAR > 2018 AND PUBYEAR < 2023 AND (LIMIT-TO (SUBJAREA,”MEDI”))
2.4. Strategy for Obtaining Data on Citations
To obtain data on citations, the main search string about Ghana was run to collate pub-
lications. Then, the “citation” tag was checked, which rearranged the output in descending
order so that the publications with the most citations were at the top. These publications
were then marked and assessed for further analysis.
Diseases 2023, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 17 
 
To obtain data on citations, the main search string about Ghana was run to collate 
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 publications. Then, the “citation” tag was checked, which rearranged th4eo fo1u6tput in de-
scending order so that the publications with the most citations were at the top. These pub-
lications were then marked and assessed for further analysis. 
3. Results 3. Results 
3.1. Africa’s Most Productive Countries and Where Ghana Lies with Regards to COVID-19
Research Outpu3t .1. Africa’s Most Productive Countries and Where Ghana Lies with Regards to COVID-19 
Research Output 
In order to determine the general COVID-19 output in Africa in relation to where
Ghana’s own inputInla yo,rwdeer steoa drcehteerdmfionre tthhee nguemnebrearl CofOpVuIbDl-i1ca9 tioountpsucto mini nAgfroicuat ionf rAelfartiicoan to where 
in general andGrahnaknead’s tohwenm inopstupt rlaoyd,u wctei vseea1r5chceodu fnotrr itehse. nFuigmubreer1 oAf psuhbolwicsattihoenst octoaml pinugb oliu- t of Africa 
cations by the imn ogsetnperraold auncdt irvaenkAefdr itchaen mcooustn ptrroiedsufcrtoivme 1250 1c9outont2ri0e2s2. .FiSgouureth 1AA fsrhicoawms tahdee total publi-
the most publiccaattiioonnss abmy othneg mthoestt oppro1d5uccotiuvne tArifersiciannA cforuicnat,riwesit fhro6m14 220p1u9 btloic 2a0t2io2n. sS.oEugthy pAtfrica made 
ranked secondth(5e2 most publicatirank6e8dp suecbolincda t(i5o2n
osn)s, afomlloonwg etdheb tyopN 1i5g countrie68 publications), folloewriead( 3b0y2
s3 i)n,  MAforricoac,c w Nigeria (302o
i
3(
t1h3 614), M8o2r)
2,  Eptuoccoh
biloicpaitaions. Egypt  (1382), Ethiopia 
(1334), and Ke(n1y3a34()1, 1a3n0d). KGenhyaan a(1w13a0s).r Ganhkaenda sweavse nrathnkaemd osnevgenththe taompo1n5g ctohue ntotrpi e1s5w coituhntries with 
1112 publicatio1n1s1.2 Tphueblliocawtieosntsa. mThoen lgowtheestt aompo1n5gw thaes tMopa 1la5w wi,asw Mhiaclhawcio, nwtrhiibcuh tceodnatritboutateld a total of 
of 266 publicat2i6o6n spuobvleicratthioenps eorvioerd t.hCe opnersiiodde.r Cinognsiniddeirvinidgu ianldyiveiadrusa, lG yheaarnsa, Gmhaainnat aminaeindtaained a con-
constant positiostnanats pthoesistieovne natsh t-hme ossetvpernothd-umctoisvte pnraotdiounctiinvet hneattihorne eins uthcec etshsrievee syuecacressfsrivoem years from 
2020 to 2022, w2i0t2h01 t9o6 2p02u2b, lwiciatthi o1n9s6, p4u05blpicuatbiolincas,t i4o0n5s p, uanbldic5a0ti6onpsu, balnidca 5ti0o6n psu, breliscpaeticotnivs,e lrye.spectively. 
However, in 20H19o,wGehvaenr,a inw 2a0s1t9h, eGfihfatnha- mwoasst thpero fdifuthc-tmivoesct opurondtruyctwivieth cofiuvnetrpyu wbliitcha ftiivoen sp.ublications. 
Diseases 2023, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 17 
  
(A) 
 
(B) 
 
Figure 1. Africa’FsigCuOreV 1ID. A-1f9ricRae’ss eCaOrcVhIOD-u1t9p Ruet:seTahrechM OousttpPurto: dTuhcet iMveosCt oPurondtruiectsivine ACofruincatri(eAs )i:nT Ahefrtiocap (A): The 
top 15 most productive countries in Africa from 2019 to 2022 presented in order of cumulative num-
15 most productbiveer ocof upunbtrliiecastiinonAs;f r(Bic)a: Ffrigoumre2 d0i1s9pltaoy2s 0b2o2thp cruesmenultaetdivien nourmdebrero fofc upmubulilcaattiivoensn uasm wbeelrl aosf publica-
publications; (B)t:ioFnigs ubrye ydeiasrp olavyers tbhoet shtucduym puelraitoidv efonru thmeb teorp o1f5p Aufbrilcicaant cioonusntarsiews. ell as publications by
year over the study period for the top 15 African countries.
Generally, with the exception of Ethiopia, which has a publication output that de-
creased marginally between 2021 and 2022 (from 577 to 553), all the other countries 
showed a steady increase in terms of their research outputs over the period examined 
(Figure 1B). 
Of note, out of the top 15 performing countries, five out of the seven countries from 
North Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Sudan) were represented; five out of 
the 22 Eastern African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Malawi) were 
represented; three out of the 17 countries from West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal) 
were represented; one out of the nine countries from Central Africa was represented 
(Cameroon); and one out of the five Southern African countries (South Africa) was repre-
sented. 
3.2. Ghana’s COVID-19 Research Output from 2019–2022: Published Document Types 
Of the 1112 publications from Ghana, the majority (71.9%) were research articles, fol-
lowed by reviews that formed 11% of the total publications during the period from 2019–
2022. Notes, letters, and conference papers represented 6.8%, 3.2%, and 2.2% of the total 
publications, respectively. Editorials represented 1.3%. The rest were below 1% each of 
COVID-19 publications. These data are represented in Figure 2. 
 
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 5 of 16
Generally, with the exception of Ethiopia, which has a publication output that de-
creased marginally between 2021 and 2022 (from 577 to 553), all the other countries showed
a steady increase in terms of their research outputs over the period examined (Figure 1B).
Of note, out of the top 15 performing countries, five out of the seven countries from
North Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Sudan) were represented; five out
of the 22 Eastern African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Malawi)
were represented; three out of the 17 countries from West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, and
Senegal) were represented; one out of the nine countries from Central Africa was repre-
sented (Cameroon); and one out of the five Southern African countries (South Africa) was
represented.
3.2. Ghana’s COVID-19 Research Output from 2019–2022: Published Document Types
Of the 1112 publications from Ghana, the majority (71.9%) were research articles,
followed by reviews that formed 11% of the total publications during the period from
2019–2022. Notes, letters, and conference papers represented 6.8%, 3.2%, and 2.2% of the
Diseases 2023, 11, x FOR PEER REVItEoWta l publications, respectively. Editorials represented 1.3%. The rest were below 1%6e aocf h17 
 
of COVID-19 publications. These data are represented in Figure 2.
 
FiFgiugurere2 .2P. PuublbilsihshededC COOVVIDID-1-919d docoucmumenetnstsb ybyty tpyepefr formomG Ghahnaan.a. 
3.33..3.I nIntetrenrnataitoinonalalC Colollalbaobroartaitoinons si ninG Ghahnana’as’sC COOVVIDID-1-919P PuublbilciactaitoinonO Outuptuptutfr formom2 021091–92–022022 
FFroromm2 021091–92–200222, ,a al alragrgeen nuummbbeerro of fp puubblilciacatitoionnssf rforommG Ghhaannaah haaddi ninteternrnaatitoionnaallc cool-l-
lalbabooraratotorsr,s,w witihths osommeep papaperesrsh ahvaivninggc oclolallbaobroartaotorsrsf rformomm mulutlitpiplelec ocuonutnrtireise.s.T ThheeU Unnitietded 
StSattaetsesw wasasG Ghhanana’as’sm majaojorri nintetrenrnataitoionnaal lp paartrntneerri ninr erseesaeracrhch, r, erseusultlitninggi nin2 92696p upublbilciactaitoinonss 
ananddr erpeprerseesnetnintigng2 62.6.26%2%o foGf Ghahnaan’as’sto ttoatlapl puublbicliactaiotinono uotuptuptu.tI.n Ina lall,lo, ouut to of f1 616i nintetrenrnataitoionnalal 
cocolllalbaboorartaitoionns,s1, 212w wereerew witihthn nataitoinons sa nanddin instsitiututitoinonsso uoutstisdideeA Afrfirciac,aw, witihtho onnlylyf ofuour rb beieningg 
wwitihthA Afrfirciacnan antaiotinosn: sS: oSuotuhtAh fArifcraic, aK, eKneynay, Na, iNgeirgiear, ian, danCda mCaemroeorno.oOnv. eOrvalelr,aGllh, aGnhaa’snian’ste irn--
ntaetrionnaatilocnoalll acboollraabtioornatwioans wapaps raepcpiarbelcyiadbilvye drsiev,eirnsve,o ilnvvinoglvEinugro Epuer,oApsei,a A, asniad, tahnedA thmee Arimcaesr,-
amicaosn, gamotohnegrs o. tDhetrasi.l sDoeftatihlse soef itnhtesren aintitoenrnaal tciolnlabl ocroalltaiobnosraatrieonshs oawren shinowTanb lien 1T.able 1. 
Table 1. The top sixteen International Collaborations in Ghana’s COVID-19 Publication output from 
2019 to 2022. 
Rank Countries Number of Joint Publications (%) 
1st United States 296 (26.6%) 
2nd United Kingdom 279 (25.1%) 
3rd South Africa 194 (17.5%) 
4th Nigeria 174 (15.7%) 
5th Germany 117 (10.5%) 
6th Australia 113 (10.2%)  
7th India 110 (9.9%) 
8th Canada 106 (9.5%)  
9th Kenya 92 (8.3%)  
10th China  89 (8.0%)  
11th Switzerland 73 (6.6%) 
12th Brazil 70 (6.3%) 
13th Pakistan  58 (5.2%) 
14th Cameroon 53 (4.8%) 
14th  Italy 53 (4.8%) 
14th Malaysia  53 (4.8%) 
3.4. Ghana’s Publication Output by Subject Area 
 
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 6 of 16
Table 1. The top sixteen International Collaborations in Ghana’s COVID-19 Publication output from
2019 to 2022.
Rank Countries Number of Joint Publications (%)
1st United States 296 (26.6%)
2nd United Kingdom 279 (25.1%)
3rd South Africa 194 (17.5%)
4th Nigeria 174 (15.7%)
5th Germany 117 (10.5%)
6th Australia 113 (10.2%)
7th India 110 (9.9%)
8th Canada 106 (9.5%)
9th Kenya 92 (8.3%)
10th China 89 (8.0%)
11th Switzerland 73 (6.6%)
12th Brazil 70 (6.3%)
13th Pakistan 58 (5.2%)
14th Cameroon 53 (4.8%)
14th Italy 53 (4.8%)
Diseases 2023, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 17 
 14th Malaysia 53 (4.8%)
3.4. Ghana’s Publication Output by Subject Area
Ghana’s publication output in COVID-19 research from 2019–2022 occurred in the 
Ghana’s publication output in COVID-19 research from 2019–2022 occurred in the
conctoenxtte xotfo mf moroer eththaann 1100 ssuubbjjeecctt aarreeaass, ,a asss hsohwown nin iFni gFuigreu3re( a3c c(oarcdcionrgdtiongsu tboj escut-bbjaescetd-based 
datdaabtaabsea sceactaetgeogroirziaztaitoionnss ooff sscchhoollaarrllyyj ojouurnrnalasl)s.)“. M“Medeidciincein”eh”a dhathde thhieg hheisgthoeusttp ouut wtpiutht with 
32%32, %an, dan “dSo“cSioacli SalciSecniecnecse”s h”ahda da 1a31.73%.7% ouotuptuptu. t“.O“tOhethr”er s”usbujebcjetc atraeraesa senecnocmomppaassssiningg phar-
mapchoalormgya,c otoloxgicy,oltogxiyc oalnogdy pahnadrmphaacremutaicesu, tnicusr,sninugrs, ianngd,  avnedtevreintearrinya, raym, aomngon ogthoethrse,r sc,ollec-
tivecolyll ercetpivrelsyernetperde s2e0n.t4e%d .2 0.4%.
 
FigFuirgeu r3e. G3.hGahnaan’as ’Cs COOVVIDID--1199 rreesseeaarrcchho ouutptpuut tb ybysu sbujebcjtecatr eaarefrao mfro2m01 920to192 0t2o2 2. 022. 
3.5. Most Productive Ghanaian Institutions in COVID-19 Research from 2019–2022 
The top 15 Ghanaian institutions involved in COVID-19 research from 2019–2022, as 
shown in Figure 4, had an average of 85 publications per institution. 
 
 
Diseases 2023, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 17 
 
Ghana’s publication output in COVID-19 research from 2019–2022 occurred in the 
context of more than 10 subject areas, as shown in Figure 3 (according to subject-based 
database categorizations of scholarly journals). “Medicine” had the highest output with 
32%, and “Social Sciences” had a 13.7% output. “Other” subject areas encompassing phar-
macology, toxicology and pharmaceutics, nursing, and veterinary, among others, collec-
tively represented 20.4%. 
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 7 of 16
 
Figure 3. Ghana’s COVID-19 research output by subject area from 2019 to 2022. 
33..55.. MMoosstt PPrroodduuccttiivvee GGhhaannaaiiaann IInnssttiittuuttiioonnss iinn CCOOVVIIDD--1199 RReesseeaarrcchh frfroomm 22001199––22002222 
TThhee ttoopp 1155 GGhhaannaaiiaann iinnssttiittuuttiioonnss iinnvvoollvveedd iinn CCOOVVIIDD--1199 rreesseeaarrcchh frforomm 22001199––2200222,2 a, sa s
sshhoowwnn iinn FFiigguurree 44,, hhaadd aann aavveerraaggee ooff 8855 ppuubblliiccaattiioonnss ppeerr iinnssttiittuuttiioonn.. 
 
Figure 4. Most productive Ghanaian institutions publishing COVID-19 research from 2019 to 2022.
 Three of these institutions contributed more publications than the average number.
Incidentally, these are the three oldest public universities. The University of Ghana topped
the list with 343 publications, followed by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science
and Technology with 225 publications, while the University of Cape Coast was next
with 202 publications. Ten of the top 15 most productive institutions were academic
in nature; two were teaching hospitals; two were research institutions; and one was a
government body responsible for administering government-provided health services and
healthcare policies.
3.6. Characteristics of the Most Productive Ghanaian Researchers on COVID-19 Research
The top 21 most productive authors published at least 10 or more COVID-19 publica-
tions between 2019 and 2022. These authors together contributed 266 publications, with
an average of 12.7 publications per author, and accounted for 23.9% of publications on
COVID-19 research output from 2019–2022. The first five authors included Amuasi, J.H.
(20 publications), Hagan, J.E. (19 publications), Owusu, M. (19 publications), Sam-Agudu,
N.A. (18 publications), and Ahinkorah, B.O. (15 publications). Adam, A.M., Ameyaw, E.K.,
Ayanore, M.A., and Seidu, A.A. each produced 13 COVID-19 publications. These were
followed by Asafo-Adjei, E., Phillips, R.O., and Vanderpuye, V., who authored 11 publica-
tions each. In addition, Abu, E.K., Adu-Sarkodie Y., El-Duah, P., Kenu, E., Owusu Junior,
P., Quansah, F., Marcarious, M. M., Yeboah, R., and Yeboah-Manu, D. each contributed
10 publications to Ghana’s COVID-19 research output. Among the top 21 most productive
authors, 17, representing 85.7%, were males, while three, representing 14.3%, were females
with the most productive female (Sam-Agudu, N. A.) being the fourth-most productive
author in Ghana. Table 2 summarizes the characteristics of the top 21 most prolific authors.
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 8 of 16
Table 2. Characteristics of the top 21 most productive Ghanaian researchers on COVID-19 from 2019
to 2022.
Rank Author Sex Affiliation No. of Pub.
1st Amuasi, J. H. Male Kwame Nkrumah University of Science andTechnology, Kumasi, Ghana 20
2nd Hagan, J. E. Male University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana 19
2nd Owusu, M. Male Kwame Nkrumah University of Science andTechnology, Kumasi, Ghana 19
3rd Sam-Agudu, N. A. Female University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana 18
4 th Ahinkorah, B. O. Male University of Technology, Sidney, Australia 15
5 th Adam, A. M. Male University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana 13
5 th Ameyaw, E. K. Male Lingnan University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 13
5 th Ayanore, M. A. Male University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana 13
5 th Seidu, A. A. Male University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana 13
6 th Asafo-Adjei, E. Male University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana 11
6th Phillips, R. O. Male Kwame Nkrumah University of Science andTechnology, Kumasi, Ghana 11
6th Vanderpuye, V. Female Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana 11
7th Abu, E. K. Male University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana 10
7th Adu-Sarkodie, Y. Male Kwame Nkrumah University of Science andTechnology, Kumasi, Ghana 10
7th El-Duah, P. Male Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin 10
7th Kenu, E. Male University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana 10
7th Owusu Junior, P. Male University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana 10
7th Quansah, Frank Male University of Education, Winneba, Ghana 10
7th Marcarious M. T. Male Tehran University of Medical Science/Universityof Ghana 10
7th Yeboah R. Male Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in TropicalMedicine (KCCR), Kumasi, Ghana 10
7th Yeboah-Manu, D. Female University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana 10
3.7. Journals Publishing the Highest Number of Ghana’s COVID-19 Documents from 2019–2022
The top 15 journals (local and foreign) publishing Ghanaian research papers from
2019 to 2022 collectively produced 250 COVID-19 publications. This accounts for 22.48%
of the total output from Ghana. Among the journals with the most published articles,
Plos One published the highest number of COVID-19 documents with 41 publications,
followed by Ghana Medical Journal and Pan African Medical journal with 36 publications
each. The journal Frontiers in Public Health produced 18 publications, followed by the
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health with 17. The rest had
fewer than 15 publications, with the last journals, BMJ Open, Complexity, and Nature
Medicine, having eight publications each. Out of the 15 journals, 13 were open access. In
addition, only one journal, Ghana Medical Journal, was a Ghanaian-based journal. These
findings are presented in Table 3.
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 9 of 16
Table 3. Top 15 most productive journals publishing Ghana’s COVID-19 research output from 2019
to 2022.
Rank Journal No. of Publications Journal Characteristics
1st Plos One 41 Open access
2nd Ghana Medical Journal 36 Open access
2nd Pan African Medical Journal 36 Open access
3rd Frontiers In Public Health 18 Open access
4th International Journal of Environmental ResearchAnd Public Health 17 Open access
5th BMJ Global Health 14 Open access
5th Lancet 14 Hybrid
6th Scientific African 11 Open access
7th Heliyon 10 Open access
7th International Journal Of Infectious Diseases 10 Open access
7th Lancet Global Health 10 Open access
8th BMC Public Health 9 Open access
9th BMJ Open 8 Open access
9th Complexity 8 Open access
9th Nature Medicine 8 Hybrid
3.8. Characteristics of Highly-Cited Papers from 2019 to 2022
The overall number of citations of publications with the participation of Ghanaian
authors was 9330. Of the top 15 highly cited publications, 13 were international collabora-
tive publications, and two were national collaborations. The citation of these publications
ranged from 84 to 421. Overall, these publications contributed to 2514 citations, which rep-
resents 26.9% of the overall citation of Ghana’s COVID-19 research output from 2019–2022,
with the average being 167.6 citations. Out of the 15 highly cited publications, 10 were
research articles, three were reviews, one was an editorial, and one was a note. Based on
the subject-based database categorizations of the journals in which these publications were
made, a majority (10 out of the 15) were in the context of medicine, with a total of 1940 cita-
tions. Two were published in journals belonging to medicine as well as immunology and
microbiology subject areas, with a total of 326 citations. One was in the genetics, biochem-
istry, and molecular biology subject areas, with a total of 189 citations. In addition, one was
published in the health professions of toxicology, pharmacology, and pharmaceutics subject
areas, with a total of 113 citations. Other subject areas that were featured in the most highly
cited publications included one publication from the mathematics, astronomy, and physics
subject areas (94 citations); one from a multidisciplinary subject area (94 citations); and one
from environmental science. Social science and decision sciences subject areas included
84 citations. The most highly cited paper was in the subject category medicine, specifically
pediatrics, perinatology, and child health. Among the top 15 highly cited publications, four
publications had Ghanaian authors as the first author. These authors were Ayittey, F. K.
with 236 citations; Kretchy, I. A. with 113 citations; Asamoah, J. K. K. with 94 citations; and
Dzisi, E. K. Jr. with 84 citations. Other characteristics can be found in Table 4.
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 10 of 16
Table 4. Characteristics of top 15 highly cited COVID-19 publications from 2019 to 2022.
Rank Authors Document Title Journal Title/SubjectArea of Journal Citation Publication Type
Maternal and Neonatal Morbidity and
Mortality among Pregnant Women
1st Villar et al., 2021 [28] with and without COVID-19 Infection: JAMA 421 Research article
The INTERCOVID Multinational Pediatrics/Medicine
Cohort Study
2nd Lamontagne et al., A living WHO guideline on drugs for2020 [29] COVID-19 The BMJ/Medicine 416 Research article
Journal of Medical
3rd Ayittey et al., Economic impacts of Wuhan Virology/Medicine;2020 [30] 2019-nCoV on China and the world Immunology and 236 Note
Microbiology
Global Tuberculosis Report
4th Chakaya et al., 2020—Reflections on the Global TB
International Journal of
2021 [31] burden, treatment and Infectious 216 Research article
prevention efforts Diseases/Medicine
Magnitude, demographics and
dynamics of the effect of the first Nature
5th Kontis et al., 2020 [32] wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medicine/Biochemistry,
all-cause mortality in 21 Genetics and Molecular
189 Research article
industrialized countries Biology
Personal protective equipment and
6th Tabah et al., 2020 [33] intensive care unit healthcare worker Journal of Criticalsafety in the COVID-19 era Care/Medicine 137 Research article
(PPE-SAFE): An international survey
Global epidemiology, health burden
7th Zhou et al., 2021 [34] and effective interventions for Nature Reviewselevated blood pressure and Cardiology/Medicine 135 Review
hypertension
Research in Social and
Medication management and Administrative
adherence during the COVID-19 Pharmacy/Health
8th Kretchy et al.,2021 [35] pandemic: Perspectives and Professions; 113 Research articleexperiences from low-and Pharmacology,
middle-income countries Toxicology and
Pharmaceutics
9th Haider et al.,
Lockdown measures in response to BMJ Global Health/
2020 [36] COVID-19 in nine sub-Saharan Medicine 109 ReviewAfrican countries
Global, regional, and national
progress towards Sustainable
Paulson et al., Development Goal 3.2 for neonatal10th 2021 [37] and child health: all-cause and The Lancet/Medicine 94 Research articlecause-specific mortality findings from
the Global Burden of Disease
Study 2019
Global stability and cost-effectiveness
10th Asamoah et al., analysis of COVID-19 considering the
Chaos, Solitons and
2020 [38] impact of the environment: using data Fractals/Mathematics; 94 Research article
from Ghana Physics and Astronomy
Sanchez-Felipe et al., A single-dose live-attenuated10th 2021 [39] YF17D-vectored SARS-CoV-2 Nature/Multidisciplinary 94 Research articlevaccine candidate
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine American Journal of
for the prevention or treatment of Tropical Medicine and
11th Abena et al., 2020 [40] COVID-19 in Africa: Caution for Hygiene/Medicine; 90 Review
inappropriate off-label use in Immunology and
healthcare settings Microbiology
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 11 of 16
Table 4. Cont.
Rank Authors Document Title Journal Title/SubjectArea of Journal Citation Publication Type
Emergence of new SARS-CoV-2
Variant of Concern Omicron
(B.1.1.529)—highlights Africa’s
12th Petersen et al., research capabilities, but exposes
International Journal of
2022 [41] major knowledge gaps, inequities of Infectious 86 Editorial
vaccine distribution, inadequacies in Diseases/Medicine
global COVID-19 response and
control efforts
Transportation Research
Adherence to social distancing and Interdisciplinary
13th Dzisi et al., 2020 [42] wearing of masks within public Perspectives/Socialtransportation during the COVID 19 Sciences; Decision 84 Research article
pandemic Sciences; Environmental
Science
3.9. Top Funding Sources for Ghana’s COVID-19 Research Output from 2019–2022
Diseases 2023, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW International organizations were the leading funding sources for COVID-19 r1e2 soefa r1c7h 
 in Ghana from 2019–2022 as shown in Figure 5.
 
Figure 5. Top 16 sponsors of Ghana’s COVID-19 research output. 
Figure 5. Top 16 sponsors of Ghana’s COVID-19 research output.
TThhee ttoopp 1166 ssppoonnssoorrss ooff CCOOVVIIDD--1199//SSAARRSS-C-Coovv-2-2 rreesseeaarcrchh inin GGhhaannaa totoggeeththere rfufunnddeded 
227744 ppuubblliiccaattiioonnss,, rreepprreesseennttiinngg 2244..66%% ooff tthhee ttoottaall rreesseeaarrcchh pprroodduucctitvivitiyty aanndd aann aavvereargage eoof f
1188p puubblilcicaatitoionnssp perers psponosnosro.rT. hTrhereeoe fotfh ethsep sopnosonrssorfus nfudneddeadh aig hhiegrhneur mnubmerboefrr eosfe raerscehatrhchan 
tthheang rtohuep graovuepra agvee. rTaghee.s eThsepsoen sspoorsnsinorcslu idnceluthdee Nthaet iNonaatiloInnaslt iItnustteitsuotefsH oef aHlteha,lWthe, lWlcoelml-e
Tcroumste,  aTnrdustth, eanBdil lthane dBiMll ealnindd Ma eGliantedsa FGoautnesd aFtoiounndwahtiiocnh wfuhnidched fu4n5,d3e6d, 4a5n,d 3622, apnudb 2li2c aptuiobn-s,
rleicsapteioctnisv,e rleys.pOetchtievreslyp.o Ontshoerrs sinpcolnusdoersF iongcalurtdye IFnotegranrtayt iIonntaelrnCaetniotnera,l tCheenNteart,i tohnea Nl Iantsiotintualt e
fIonrstHiteuatelt hfoar nHdeCalathre aRneds eCaarrceh R, aensedarTchhe, aWndor TldheH WeaoltrhldO Hrgeaalnthiz aOtriognan, iwzaitthionea, cwhitfhu nedacinhg 
1f8upnudbinligc a1t8i opnusb. lTichaetiEounrso. pTehaen EaunrdopDeeavne alonpdi nDgeCveoluonptirniges CColuinnitcraileTs rCialilns iPcaarl tTnreiraslhs iPpafrutnnedre-d
1s7hpipu fbulnicdaetdio 1n7s ,pwubhliilceatthioenNs, awtihoinlea lthNea NtuartaiolnSacli eNnacteuFraolu Sncdieantcioe nFooufnCdhaitnioana losfo Cshpionna saolsreod 
sponsored 15 COVID-19 research in Ghana. The rest of the sponsors had fewer than 15 
publications, with the last three sponsors providing funding for 11 publications each. 
4. Discussion 
Due to the persistent COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in 
efforts to identify effective methods for prevention and treatment in order to lessen the 
impact of the virus. The analysis of this scientometric study established that all forms of 
research on COVID-19 were being conducted in Ghana and that the COVID-19 research 
output also varied in the African region. As reported by Edem et al., despite Africa’s size 
and population, it holds comparatively fewer COVID-19 trials than other regions [43]. 
Although experiencing relatively lower morbidity and mortality rates from the COVID-
19 pandemic compared to other regions [44], Africa has still made appreciable contribu-
tions to global research on the virus. According to this study, South Africa had the highest 
number of COVID-19 research publications in Africa, with a total of 6142 publications. 
This result is consistent with previous studies that found South Africa to have the most 
prolific output of health research on the continent [16, 45, 46]. Another study, not related 
to the coronavirus disease, stated that only three countries in Africa (Egypt, South Africa, 
and Nigeria) provide about half of the total research funding on the continent [47]. Previ-
ous research established that a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a key factor in 
determining research capacity [46]. These findings are corroborated by our study, which 
 
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 12 of 16
15 COVID-19 research in Ghana. The rest of the sponsors had fewer than 15 publications,
with the last three sponsors providing funding for 11 publications each.
4. Discussion
Due to the persistent COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in
efforts to identify effective methods for prevention and treatment in order to lessen the
impact of the virus. The analysis of this scientometric study established that all forms of
research on COVID-19 were being conducted in Ghana and that the COVID-19 research
output also varied in the African region. As reported by Edem et al., despite Africa’s size
and population, it holds comparatively fewer COVID-19 trials than other regions [43].
Although experiencing relatively lower morbidity and mortality rates from the COVID-19
pandemic compared to other regions [44], Africa has still made appreciable contributions to
global research on the virus. According to this study, South Africa had the highest number
of COVID-19 research publications in Africa, with a total of 6142 publications. This result is
consistent with previous studies that found South Africa to have the most prolific output
of health research on the continent [16,45,46]. Another study, not related to the coronavirus
disease, stated that only three countries in Africa (Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria) provide
about half of the total research funding on the continent [47]. Previous research established
that a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a key factor in determining research
capacity [46]. These findings are corroborated by our study, which showed that South
Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria, which have the highest GDPs in Africa [48], also were the most
productive countries in COVID-19 research on the continent from 2019 to 2022.
As of March 2020, Ghana was among the last African countries to have recorded the
coronavirus disease and lagged slightly behind other countries in the region and signifi-
cantly behind the rest of the world, especially during the second wave of the pandemic [49].
In this study, Ghana occupied the seventh position in Africa with a research output of 1112
publications, which represents an appreciable contribution to the continent’s total COVID-
19 research output from 2019–2022. The outbreak of COVID-19 led to new opportunities
for research collaborations and facilitated the creation of international partnerships for aca-
demic exchanges and joint research efforts [50]. The United States and the United Kingdom
were the top collaborators on COVID-19 research in Ghana, contributing a high volume
of publications to Ghana’s output. Regarding collaborations with other African countries,
South Africa was the top collaborator on COVID-19 research for Ghana, making South
Africa a major reference for research collaboration on COVID-19 in Africa and globally. The
distribution of Ghanaian COVID-19 research output indicated that 32% of the publications
were in the medicine subject area. It was anticipated that the medical field would have
the highest number of publications among all sub-categories due to the high infection
and mortality rates of the disease, making it crucial to understand the disease progression.
However, social sciences also had a significant number of publications, accounting for
13.7%, which may be attributed to the social consequences of the pandemic, including
the unprecedented changes in lifestyle, work, and social interactions that affected human
relations due to the disease [51].
Among the most productive Ghanaian authors, the majority were affiliated with
Ghanaian institutions, while a relatively small number was affiliated with non-Ghanaian
institutions. Of the top 21 most productive Ghanaian authors, 85.7% were male and 14.3%
were female, demonstrating a great gender gap in research contribution and output in
Ghana. While this could be attributed to the general significant gender disparity in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in Ghana as well as cultural
practices that can affect women’s ability to excel academically [52–54], our study points to
the concern of less female representation in research output across all disciplines. However,
it was still encouraging to find females among the top 21, with the most productive female
occupying the fourth place. It is also worthy of note that the second-most cited Ghanaian
first author was female. Our analysis showed that only two African journals were among
the most productive, with the Ghana Medical Journal and Pan African Medical Journal
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 13 of 16
both having 36 publications each. However, the majority of Ghanaian COVID-19 research
output was published in foreign journals. Previous research has indicated that medical
professionals often prioritize publishing in foreign journals over local ones due to the wider
readership of foreign journals [55]. Our study found that most of the top-cited articles were
published in high-impact journals. Most of these articles were published in 2020 and 2021,
making them among the earliest sources of scientific knowledge on the pandemic and likely
to be heavily relied upon by other scientists, resulting in high citation rates. However, it
was noted that only a small number of the most cited articles appeared on the list of the top
15 journals, with the highest number of published documents. The first most cited article
was by Villar et al., 2021, and was published in JAMA Pediatrics. The aforementioned
study was a multinational cohort study that focused on maternal and neonatal mortality
rates among pregnant women and involved 50 authors from countries across Africa, the
United States, and Europe, which may have contributed to its high citation rate. In addition,
our study revealed that the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and China
are the leading sources of funding for Ghana’s COVID-19 research output, which may be
due to the high prevalence of COVID-19 in these countries during the initial outbreak [44]
and also having the financial capacity to fund multiple research projects and prioritizing
research. To increase Ghana’s overall COVID-19 research output, the Ghana government
and other local funding sources should make research a priority and provide more funding
to strengthen capabilities at all levels to enhance not only COVID-19 and health related
research, but also research in other areas in Ghana.
A limitation of this study is that only the Scopus database was used for data retrieval.
While other databases may contain COVID-19 publications not included in the Scopus
database, we based our study on high-quality data and comprehensive records from Scopus,
and the data retrieved can give a fair idea as far as research productivity output from a
region is concerned. In addition, the number of citations per article and total citations may
vary with time, hence that measure is often disputed as a complete indicator of the quality
of an article or author. Likewise, the number of publications is not the only indicator of
a journal’s impact or its productivity. Other metrics, including impact factor, Citespace,
and SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator, may be used in future studies. In addition,
even though international collaborative research is prominent in Ghana, it is difficult to
clearly indicate the level of contribution of each country in an international collaborative
paper. Additionally, since this study relied solely on Scopus analysis, with specific numbers
retrieved on 28th December 2022, database updates may result in discrepancies. However,
we believe that the data retrieved from 2019 to 2022 captured the crucial evolution of
COVID-19, including the initial outbreak, the second wave of the pandemic, and vaccine
development and administration. There is also the possibility that the results could include
studies on older types of coronaviruses. However, this would be minimal since the period
studied was at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, most coronavirus studies
focused on COVID-19.
5. Conclusions
Although the impact of COVID-19 in Africa as compared to other regions of the world
has been less severe, Africa and Ghana have contributed fairly well to the global COVID-19
research output. However, collaborations and partnerships should be encouraged among
African countries to increase Africa’s research output. Funding organizations in Ghana
and the government should be encouraged to prioritize and fund research. In addition,
capacity building should be promoted among Ghanaian female authors to increase their
productivity and Ghana’s cumulative research output.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.K.Y., S.A., N.I.N.-T. and A.A.Y.; methodology, A.K.Y.
and S.A.; software, A.K.Y. and S.A.; validation, A.K.Y., S.A., N.I.N.-T., A.B.Y. and I.K.Y.; formal
analysis, A.K.Y. and S.A.; investigation, A.K.Y. and S.A.; resources, A.K.Y. and A.A.Y.; data curation,
A.K.Y. and S.A.; writing—original draft preparation, S.A. and A.K.Y.; writing—review and editing,
A.K.Y., S.A., A.B.Y., I.K.Y., N.I.N.-T. and A.A.Y.; visualization, S.A., A.K.Y. and N.I.N.-T.; supervision,
Diseases 2023, 11, 56 14 of 16
A.K.Y.; project administration, A.K.Y.; funding acquisition, A.A.Y. All authors have read and agreed
to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: APC was funded by University of Konstanz Open Access Funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Data generated and presented in this study are available on request
from the corresponding authors.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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