Abstract Number: PB1209
Meeting: ISTH 2021 Congress
Theme: Venous Thromboembolism » VTE Epidemiology
Background: The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) was created in 1969 to advance the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of conditions related to thrombosis and haemostasis. ISTH currently has over 5000 members in 100 countries.
The vast majority of ISTH members are either citizens or residents of High and Middle-Income Countries; similarly, most of the research in the area of Thrombosis and Haemostasis originate in these countries. Previously, it was wrongly assumed that the prevalence of disorders of the coagulation system was low, in other parts of the world and this presumably explained the low representation of health workers and scientists from low-income countries in the activities of the society. To address this imbalance, the ISTH has instituted several programs including the Reach-the-World program.
Aims: This study was designed to compare the membership of ISTH and research output from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Europe.
Methods: We collected and compared data on the number of ISTH members from Europe and SSA as at September 2020, using the ISTH membership directory. We also compared the number of accepted abstracts (oral and poster), to the ISTH 2020 Virtual Congress from both parts of the world.
Results: As shown in table 1, Europe with a population far lower than SSA has 20 times more ISTH members and almost 40 times more abstracts were from Europe compared to SSA. The top 3 countries in terms of membership and abstracts from both regions is shown in table 2.
Table 1
Europe | Sub-Saharan Africa | |
ISTH Members | 1645 | 82 |
Number of Accepted Abstracts | 1383 | 37 |
2020 Population | 747 Million | 1.1 Billion |
Table 2
Europe | Sub-Saharan Africa | |
Top 3 Countries (Membership) | United Kingdom (332), Netherlands (188), Germany (175) | South Africa (36), Nigeria (28), Kenya (6) |
Top 3 Countries (Abstracts) | Italy (206), United Kingdom (186), Germany (140) | Nigeria (17), South Africa (7), Senegal (3). |
Conclusions: Although, ISTH has instituted several programs to encourage participation by health workers and scientists from under represented parts of the world in its activities. More needs to be done in promoting the society in underserved and under reached region as well as providing educational support to scientists and health workers from these regions.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Olayemi E, Fiawoo D. ISTH Membership and Research Output: A Comparative Study of Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2021; 5 (Suppl 2). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/isth-membership-and-research-output-a-comparative-study-of-sub-saharan-africa-and-europe/. Accessed March 22, 2024.« Back to ISTH 2021 Congress
ISTH Congress Abstracts - https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/isth-membership-and-research-output-a-comparative-study-of-sub-saharan-africa-and-europe/