K. N. Lucey1, K. T. Anderson1, M. A. Bartz-Kurycki1, M. C. Henry1 1University of Arizona Medical Center,General Surgery,Tucson, AZ, USA
Introduction: The Hirsch Index (h-index) is a measure of academic output based on the number of published works and the subsequent citations of work. It is frequently used as a factor in academic promotions. The utility of the h-index in pediatric surgery has not been established.
Methods: Faculty members of pediatric surgery fellowship programs as listed by the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) were identified. Faculty rank and gender as noted on department and institutional websites were captured. Faculty of programs that did not provide a clinical appointment were noted to be instructors. Published articles, citations with and without self-citations, book citations, and h-index with and without self-citations or book citations were collected through Scopus. Publication years were defined by 2018 minus the year publications were noted by Scopus. Student’s t-test and linear regression were used for analysis.
Results: From 58 pediatric surgery fellowship programs, 456 faculty were identified who had a record in Scopus, and whose demographics were available from their institutional websites. The cohort for analysis included 42 (9.2%) department chairs, 84 (18.4%) professors, 145 (31.8%) assistant professors, 120 (26.3%) associate professors, 63 (13.8%) instructors and 2 (0.4%) professor emeritus. Most faculty were male (n=331, 72.6%). During an average of 20.5±9.6 publication years, the mean h-index was 16.8±.12.6 with a range from 1 to 111. H-index did not change significantly with the removal of self-citation (16.4±12.2, p=0.65) nor with the removal of book citations (15.8±11.5, p=0.20). H-index increased with publication years and faculty rank but the trajectory of the index differed by gender (figure). Adjusting for publication years and faculty rank, female faculty had a lower overall h-index (Male faculty mean h-index: 18.7±13.6 vs Female faculty 11.9±7.8, p<0.01).
Conclusions: According to the Hirsh index, male faculty out produce female faculty, even after accounting for length of publishing time and faculty rank in pediatric surgery. Further research is needed to evaluate causes of the discrepancy in academic productivity.
