Regional research impact strengthening the national academics in geographical diversities

Routine clinical observations and the review of scientific literature produce novel research questions which lead to the conduct of high-quality research. This in turn leads to the output of research in the form of eloquent publications. The published material in scientific journals gets cited in the chapters of textbooks which become the gospel of the young undergraduate and postgraduate medical students. Such is the impact of these high-quality publications that the students start following this in their routine clinical practice with confidence. The research question thus ultimately leads to the betterment of clinical practice. This benevolent cycle of research and improved clinical practice is important for the improvement of healthcare services and has to perpetuate for the enhanced survival of mankind. Though the basics of research remain the same, the priorities and limitations in conducting research keep changing across the regions.

Research academics do follow the law of regional and cultural variations. Such is the blend of research academics of different regions of India that we get a unified research atmosphere throughout the nation in spite of regional diversities. Each region of our nation excels in one part of the academics or the other when it comes to research.

However, scientific research work and writing know no geographical boundaries. In contrast, scientific research does have boundaries which are defined by the scope (e.g., the target population, duration of study) and delimitations (factors and variables not included) of the study.[1] There does exist an ethnic inequality in medical research. The population and demographic factors of our nation do play a role in the quality and direction of research as different regions have different comorbidities among the general public depending upon their dietary, cultural, and daily lifestyles. It is convenient for researchers to enrol subjects from their local population. Genetic variations, variation in environmental exposure, and differences in diet and health-related practices can exist, and these can contribute to the variation in observations and conclusion of research studies conducted in different geographical locations.[2] Also, there exists a regional diversity in healthcare sector development,[3] including the availability and level of health care services, including the number of medical colleges and tertiary health care institutes. Quality research work needs a good infrastructure, and the disparity in infrastructure is one of the main reasons for disparity in the research output that emanates from different areas of our country. This infrastructure includes not only the availability of equipment, machines, laboratory facilities, and drugs but also the provision of internet facilities for digital scientific literature search and the availability of online access to scientific journals and their latest issues.[4] The mindset of the local fraternity to do research and a willingness to dedicate time to conducting research is another factor that determines the research output. Nevertheless, any clinical practitioner can go ahead with conducting the research provided he has the passion to do it and has the facilities to conduct the research.

In this fast changing amalgamation of different cultures, the research landscape is changing steadily and the research status of our nation has been improving. It has been reported that Indian research is the second largest source of submissions to journals and the third highest contributor to the top 10% highly cited articles and ranks among the top three nations for high-impact research in applied, physical, and life sciences. India’s research output has increased almost six-fold over the last decade and a half, rising from 34,000 articles in 2010 to 1,95,000 in 2024. This makes India the second fastest academically growing nation by total article count.[5] We are certain that the same research pulse exists amongst the anaesthesiologists in India. This is very well evidenced by the enhanced manuscript submissions to Indian Journal of Anaesthesia (IJA) and also the number of international authors opting for the journal.[6] The topics and categories of research preferred by researchers are also changing with artificial intelligence (AI), digital innovation, personalised care, precision medicine, perioperative care pathways, organ transplant, systematic reviews (SRs), and metanalyses (MAs) taking the pilot seats and occupying the favourite zone. This wind of change is reflected in the various articles on AI, SRs, and MAs that have been published in the last few years in IJA.[7,8,9,10,11,12,13] The variety of articles on transplant anaesthesia, the fast establishing anaesthesia superspeciality, and newer nerve blocks by authors from different areas of the north zone of our country in this issue of the IJA are also a testament to this.[14,15,16,17]

Going by the current trends of research and publications in this part of the world, we need to set up research priority agendas by identifying research gaps and priority research topics and the areas where these research questions can be explored best. There can be problems in the conduct of this research, and for this, help can be taken from the local stakeholders and funding bodies. This should be followed by the application of transparent processes in the development of feasible research roadmaps.[18] Funding of good research has to be encouraged. Multicentric and multidisciplinary research offers a high value because of the large and diverse population sample that it gathers in less time and its ability to tackle complex research questions. The networking between good researchers from different zones of our country can be encouraged by the College of Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (CISA), and this can go a long way in improving the research output that emanates from our nation.

The northern zone of India has always been in the forefront of anaesthesia research and clinical services. It can aptly be called as ‘the anaesthesiology research bowl of India’. Its institutes of national eminence, medical colleges, and corporate hospitals that cater to medical tourism provide a fertile ground for research. This research needs to be showcased and published. The Northern Journal of the Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (ISA) that was started in the year 2015 followed by the northern supplements of ISA in 2020[19,20] attempted at improving the publication avenues and was well appreciated. The restarting of the Northern supplement is an endeavour to improve the opportunities for publication. Nevertheless, whether the winds of research blow from the north or the south or from the east or the west, anaesthesiology in India is distinct because it is marked by unity in a vast diversity.[21]

Nonetheless, the avenues for publication have become diverse and have increased, author support at IJA has improved, and newer editorial strategies have come in at IJA. What is needed now is the urge and willingness to conduct novel research studies with robust methodology and accurate results. With the starting of these thematic zonal supplements, every ISA member from different zones will get an opportunity to highlight and showcase her/his research endeavours at a national platform, thereby fulfilling the norms of the medical council as well in this pursuit. It is an additional attempt by the editors in ending the dominance of predatory journals which have mushroomed widely in the last one decade and providing uniform opportunities to ISA members of different zones to fulfill their academic pursuits.

Disclosure of use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assistive or generative tools

No AI tools were used.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

Funding Statement

Nil.