Table 2.
Factors associated with public health and epidemiology research productivity in WHO/AFRO, identified by univariable and multivariable negative binomial regressions
| Indicatora | Univariable (unadjusted) |
Multivariable (adjusted) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRR (95% CI) | P-value | Percentage Change | IRR (95% CI) | P-value | Percentage Change | |
| Country’s population (in millions) | 1.92 (1.66–2.22) | 0.000 | 92.0 | 1.21 (0.80–1.84) | 0.372 | |
| English (vs French) speaking | 2.24 (1.08–6.64) | 0.030 | 123.8 | 0.66 (0.35–1.23) | 0.188 | |
| Adult literacy rate (% of people ≥15 years) | 1.74 (0.64–4.71) | 0.278 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| GDP (in US$ billion) | 1.96 (1.64–2.34) | 0.000 | 95.8 | 1.67 (0.59–4.71) | 0.332 | |
| Physicians (per 100 000 people) | 1.24 (0.91–1.69) | 0.176 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Public health training institutes | 3.98 (2.68–5.89) | 0.000 | 297.5 | 3.41 (1.90–6.11) | 0.000 | 241.2 |
| Expenditure | ||||||
| Health expenditure (as % of GDP) | 1.92 (1.61–2.30) | 0.000 | 92.4 | 0.87 (0.35–2.16) | 0.762 | |
| Research and development (as % of GDP) | 1.92 (1.56–2.36) | 0.000 | 91.9 | 0.61 (0.33–1.13) | 0.116 | |
| Burden of disease | ||||||
| Number of HIV patients | 1.64 (1.42–1.90) | 0.000 | 63.9 | 1.30 (1.02–1.66) | 0.034 | 30.0 |
| TB prevalence (per 100 000 people) | 1.73 (0.99–3.02) | 0.053 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Malaria cases | 0.99 (0.88–1.11) | 0.855 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
IRR, incidence rate ratio; CI, confidence interval; GDP, gross domestic product; N/A, not applicable.
aIndicators were log transformed.