The Evolving Structure of a Scientific Citation Network and its Political Effects

• In Event: 411 - Section on Science, Knowledge and Technology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Knowledge Circulation

Abstract

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for a large fraction of the burden of disease globally (more than 30%) and well-evidenced, cost effective interventions exist that have been demonstrated effective in rural and urban populations globally. Yet, financing for the care, treatment, and prevention of NCDs globally accounts for less than 1% of all development assistance for health. This paper uses network analysis to trace the citation network of academic papers written about global health and noncommunicable diseases from 1990 through 2016 to explore changes in its structure and the concomitant shifts in the framing and naming of noncommunicable diseases, especially those existing in very low income populations globally. It is my argument that key shifts in the structure of this citation network correspond with important changes in the framing of NCDs from leaders at the WHO and other global health governing bodies. This scientifically-driven framing has limited the political opportunities that NCD advocates have had in mobilizing new financing for these important global health problems. Drawing on a biopolitical theoretical framework, these findings could provide insights into why relatively little new policy or resources have followed from the 2011 United Nations High-Level Meeting focused on NCDs, the first of such meetings on a health topic since the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in 2000.

Author

• Jonathan David Shaffer, Boston University