Institution-level collaboration in cardiovascular research in sub-Saharan Africa.

The contribution of sub-Saharan Africa to scientific knowledge on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and care is very limited compared to other regions of the world. This underlies the challenge of understanding and addressing the high prevalence of risk factors for CVD in sub-Saharan Africa. The patterns of collaboration between institutions in the region in the area of cardiovascular research are not well documented, although there is evidence of significant collaboration in health research between Africa-based researchers and those in countries outside the region. This study focuses on mapping the linkages between institutions in this region using co-authorship of publications in cardiovascular research from 2005 to 2014. The key institutions in sub-Saharan Africa which engaged in collaboration are identified and the potential of these networks for stimulating the growth of research capacity in this field is discussed.