Uncovering research patterns of a middle-income country: A Comprehensive Study of Peru's Specialized Health Institutes' Scientific Output (1991-2021)

Objetive:This study aimed to describe the scientific output of specialized health institutes in Peru from 1991 to 2021. Method: A bibliometric analysis was conducted to evaluate the scientific production, collaboration, and impact of nine specialized health institutes in Peru. An exploratory analysis of associations was performed for highly cited articles and publications in Q1 journals. Results: A total of 3,020 articles were analyzed, with the majority published in English (61.39%). The institutes with the highest scientific output were the Instituto Nacional de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas, and Instituto Nacional de Salud del Nino - Brena. Instituto Nacional de Salud collaborated with the other institutes at least once, while Instituto Nacional de Oftalmologia had the least collaboration. The three institutes with the highest bibliometric impact were the Instituto Nacional de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas, and Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurologicas. Notably, the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurologicas had half of its articles (50.12%) highly cited (more than 10 citations). Foreign collaboration and publication in Q1 journals were associated with a higher likelihood of being highly cited. Additionally, publishing in English, conducting interventional research, receiving funding, foreign collaboration, and having male authors as last authors increased the likelihood of publication in Q1 journals. Conclusion: The scientific output of specialized institutes in Peru is heterogeneous and growing, although none of the institutes exceeded 100 articles per year. Moreover, collaboration among the institutes is limited. Reference values should be established to enhance the performance of specialized institutes in Peru.