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Abstract：
BACKGROUND: Digital health research plays a vital role in advancing equitable health care. The diversity of research teams is thereby instrumental in capturing societal challenges, increasing productivity, and reducing bias in algorithms. Despite its importance, the gender distribution within digital health authorship remains largely unexplored.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the gender distribution among first and last authors in digital health research, thereby identifying predicting factors of female authorship.
METHODS: This bibliometric analysis examined the gender distribution across 59,980 publications from 1999 to 2023, spanning 42 digital health journals indexed in the Web of Science. To identify strategies ensuring equality in research, a detailed comparison of gender representation in JMIR journals was conducted within the field, as well as against a matched sample. Two-tailed Welch 2-sample t tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and chi-square tests were used to assess differences. In addition, odds ratios were calculated to identify predictors of female authorship.
RESULTS: The analysis revealed that 37% of first authors and 30% of last authors in digital health were female. JMIR journals demonstrated a higher representation, with 49% of first authors and 38% of last authors being female, yielding odds ratios of 1.96 (95% CI 1.90-2.03; P<.001) and 1.78 (95% CI 1.71-1.84; P<.001), respectively. Since 2008, JMIR journals have consistently featured a greater proportion of female first authors than male counterparts. Other factors that predicted female authorship included having female authors in other relevant positions and gender discordance, given the higher rate of male last authors in the field.
CONCLUSIONS: There was an evident shift toward gender parity across publications in digital health, particularly from the publisher JMIR Publications. The specialized focus of its sister journals, equitable editorial policies, and transparency in the review process might contribute to these achievements. Further research is imperative to establish causality, enabling the replication of these successful strategies across other scientific fields to bridge the gender gap in digital health effectively.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the gender distribution among first and last authors in digital health research, thereby identifying predicting factors of female authorship.
METHODS: This bibliometric analysis examined the gender distribution across 59,980 publications from 1999 to 2023, spanning 42 digital health journals indexed in the Web of Science. To identify strategies ensuring equality in research, a detailed comparison of gender representation in JMIR journals was conducted within the field, as well as against a matched sample. Two-tailed Welch 2-sample t tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and chi-square tests were used to assess differences. In addition, odds ratios were calculated to identify predictors of female authorship.
RESULTS: The analysis revealed that 37% of first authors and 30% of last authors in digital health were female. JMIR journals demonstrated a higher representation, with 49% of first authors and 38% of last authors being female, yielding odds ratios of 1.96 (95% CI 1.90-2.03; P<.001) and 1.78 (95% CI 1.71-1.84; P<.001), respectively. Since 2008, JMIR journals have consistently featured a greater proportion of female first authors than male counterparts. Other factors that predicted female authorship included having female authors in other relevant positions and gender discordance, given the higher rate of male last authors in the field.
CONCLUSIONS: There was an evident shift toward gender parity across publications in digital health, particularly from the publisher JMIR Publications. The specialized focus of its sister journals, equitable editorial policies, and transparency in the review process might contribute to these achievements. Further research is imperative to establish causality, enabling the replication of these successful strategies across other scientific fields to bridge the gender gap in digital health effectively.
摘要：
背景：数字健康研究在促进公平医疗保健方面发挥着至关重要的作用。因此，研究团队的多样性有助于捕捉社会挑战，提高生产力，并减少算法中的偏差。尽管它很重要,数字健康作者身份中的性别分布在很大程度上仍未被探索。
目的：本研究旨在调查数字健康研究中第一作者和最后作者的性别分布，从而确定女性作者身份的预测因素。
方法：该文献计量分析检查了1999年至2023年59,980种出版物的性别分布，涵盖了WebofScience上索引的42种数字健康期刊。确定确保研究平等的策略，在该领域内对JMIR期刊中的性别代表性进行了详细的比较，以及对匹配的样本。双尾韦尔奇2样本t检验，Wilcoxon秩和检验,和卡方检验用于评估差异。此外,计算比值比以确定女性作者身份的预测因子。
结果：分析显示，数字健康领域37%的第一作者和30%的最后作者是女性。JMIR期刊表现出更高的代表性，49%的第一作者和38%的最后作者是女性，收益率比值比为1.96(95%CI1.90-2.03；P<.001)和1.78(95%CI1.71-1.84；P<.001)，分别。自2008年以来，JMIR期刊一直以女性第一作者的比例高于男性第一作者。预测女性作者身份的其他因素包括女性作者担任其他相关职位和性别不一致，鉴于该领域男性最后作者的比例较高。
结论：数字健康出版物中出现了明显的性别均等转变，特别是从出版商JMIR出版物。其姊妹期刊的专业重点，公平的编辑政策，审查过程的透明度可能有助于这些成就。进一步的研究必须建立因果关系，能够在其他科学领域复制这些成功的战略，以有效弥合数字健康领域的性别差距。
目的：本研究旨在调查数字健康研究中第一作者和最后作者的性别分布，从而确定女性作者身份的预测因素。
方法：该文献计量分析检查了1999年至2023年59,980种出版物的性别分布，涵盖了WebofScience上索引的42种数字健康期刊。确定确保研究平等的策略，在该领域内对JMIR期刊中的性别代表性进行了详细的比较，以及对匹配的样本。双尾韦尔奇2样本t检验，Wilcoxon秩和检验,和卡方检验用于评估差异。此外,计算比值比以确定女性作者身份的预测因子。
结果：分析显示，数字健康领域37%的第一作者和30%的最后作者是女性。JMIR期刊表现出更高的代表性，49%的第一作者和38%的最后作者是女性，收益率比值比为1.96(95%CI1.90-2.03；P<.001)和1.78(95%CI1.71-1.84；P<.001)，分别。自2008年以来，JMIR期刊一直以女性第一作者的比例高于男性第一作者。预测女性作者身份的其他因素包括女性作者担任其他相关职位和性别不一致，鉴于该领域男性最后作者的比例较高。
结论：数字健康出版物中出现了明显的性别均等转变，特别是从出版商JMIR出版物。其姊妹期刊的专业重点，公平的编辑政策，审查过程的透明度可能有助于这些成就。进一步的研究必须建立因果关系，能够在其他科学领域复制这些成功的战略，以有效弥合数字健康领域的性别差距。
