Australian and New Zealand contribution to international mental health research publications: a survey of high-impact journals.

Most mental health research published in high-impact journals originates from developed countries in North America and Western Europe and from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), where only a minority of the world's population exists. We examined the contribution of the ANZ research community to the literature on international mental health in regard to countries outside this dominant group. A literature search was conducted with two phases: a PubMed search of mental health articles by ANZ authors in twelve high-impact local and international journals over three years (2001-2003); and a hand search of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (ANZJP) over ten years (1994-2003). Four percent of mental health articles published by ANZ authors in selected high-impact journals related to international mental health in countries outside ANZ, North America and Western Europe. Six percent of the articles published in the ANZJP represented countries outside this dominant group, and ANZ authors contributed to 30% of those articles. Hong Kong and Singapore were the most frequently represented countries. Sixty-five of 78 selected articles were original research. Descriptive epidemiological studies and case reports were the commonest study designs. Psychotic illness was the most frequently studied mental disorder. Most studies were conducted in specialist mental health services. Thus, relatively little of the work published by the ANZ mental health research community in local and other high-impact journals related to international mental health in countries outside ANZ, North America and Western Europe. Countries with the lowest incomes and highest populations were particularly under-represented, and there was relatively less research in community settings or on mental health problems known to account for the highest global burden of disease.