Looking back at 2023: a year in review of Gates Open Research

As we approach the end of 2023, we’re reflecting on some of the achievements of Gates Open Research and its authors over the year. We’re also exploring the five most-read articles of the year and showcasing some of the research being covered by news publications and policies around the world.

Read on to find out more.

2023 in numbers

With Gates Open Research approaching its seventh anniversary in March 2024, the platform continues to go from strength to strength in supporting the Gates Foundation research community.

Retaining its spot as a top 10 publishing venue for Gates-funded researchers, 52 articles had been published on Gates Open Research in 2023 at the time of writing, sharing insights into everything from HIV testing to the economic costs of malaria in pregnancy.

38 of these articles have passed peer review so far, going on to be indexed in PubMed Central, Scopus, and other major databases.

Articles published in 2023 have accrued almost 15,500 views and almost 1,500 downloads over the year – reflecting both the significant visibility of articles published on the platform and the benefits for authors in reaching wider audiences when publishing open access.

Research in the news and in policymaking

One key benefit of publishing research in an open access venue like Gates Open Research is the ability to communicate work beyond the immediate academic community, including reaching strategic stakeholders like journalists and policymakers.

A number of Gates Open Research authors have been featured in news articles and cited in policies around the world in 2023, increasing the real-world impact of their work.

The impact of condom use on the HIV epidemic

Condom promotion and supply was one of the earliest interventions to be mobilized to address the HIV pandemic. However, in recent years the focus of HIV programs has been on testing and treatment and new technologies such as PrEP. Rates of condom use have stopped increasing short of UNAIDS targets and funding from donors is declining.

This study explored the impact of condom use on the HIV epidemic.

The Research Article has over 2,200 views, over 200 downloads, and was cited in Vice news.

Slaying little dragons: the impact of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program on dracunculiasis disability averted from 1990 to 2016

The Guinea Worm Eradication programme has been in place since 1986, aiming to eradicate dracunculiasis worldwide. This 2018 study from Cromwell et al. assessed the impact of the Program on levels of disability caused by dracunculiasis from 1990 to 2016, expressed as disability-adjusted life years (DALY).

The study found that between 990,000 to 1.9 million DALYs have been averted as a result of the eradication program.

The Research Article has over 1,600 views, over 150 downloads, and was cited in the World Health Organization 2023 update ‘Criteria for the certification of dracunculiasis eradication’.

What next after GDP-based cost-effectiveness thresholds?

Public payers around the world are increasingly using cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) to assess the value-for-money of an intervention and make coverage decisions. However, there is still much confusion about the meaning and uses of the CET, how it should be calculated, and what constitutes an adequate evidence base for its formulation.

This article seeks to address this gap by offering five practical options for decision-makers in low- and middle-income countries that can be used instead of existing methods.

The Open Letter has over 2,600 views, over 500 downloads, and was cited in the World Health Organization 2023 report, ‘Economics of the health implications of waste management in the context of a circular economy’.

Rapid molecular assays for the detection of the four dengue viruses in infected mosquitoes

The pantropic emergence of severe dengue disease can partly be attributed to the co-circulation of different dengue viruses (DENVs) in the same geographical location.

Effective monitoring for circulation of each of the four DENVs is critical to inform disease mitigation strategies. In low resource settings, this can be effectively achieved by utilizing inexpensive, rapid, sensitive and specific assays to detect viruses in mosquito populations.

In this study, the authors developed four rapid DENV tests to improve low-resource virus surveillance in mosquitoes.

The Method Article has over 900 views, 140 downloads, and covered in Sunshine Coast News and Medical Xpress.

Learn more about the study in our author interview.

This year’s five most-read articles

Articles published on Gates Open Research this year covered a whole range of research topics and themes, and we’ve identified the most-read articles of 2023.

Self-managed abortion via the internet: Analysis of one year of service delivery data from Women Help Women

Our most-read article of 2023, with over 600 views, explores the use of self-managed abortion as a compassionate and accessible family planning and reproductive healthcare option.

In this collaboration between Women Help Women and Gynuity Health Projects, researchers and grassroots activists partnered to explore the emerging landscape of self-managed abortion with support over the internet.

The partnership aimed to answer some key questions including:

• How many people needed this service?
• Which countries did they come from?
• What were their experiences navigating digital means for abortion access?

Read more about the study in our author interview.

The economic costs of malaria in pregnancy: evidence from four sub-Saharan countries

Our second most-read article, with over 590 views, provides evidence on the costs of malaria care in pregnancy to households and the health system in four high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Nigeria.

The study found that malaria in pregnancy imposes a high economic burden, and emphasizes the importance of investing in effective strategies that improve access to malaria control and reduces the burden of the infection in pregnancy.

Balancing evidence-informed and user-responsive design: Experience with human-centered design to generate layered economic empowerment and SRH programming in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Nigeria

In 2021, the Adolescents 360 project pursued a human-centred design (HCD) process to layer complementary economic empowerment components on top of its existing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) interventions targeting adolescent girls aged 15 to 19.

In our third most-read article, with over 580 views, authors share how they utilized and validated the evidence base while applying the core tenets of HCD (empathy and user insights) to design holistic, layered programming for girls.

Tranexamic acid for the prevention of postpartum bleeding: Protocol for a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis

Our fourth most-read article, with 540 views, presents a study protocol to assess the effectiveness and safety of tranexamic acid (TXA) for preventing postpartum bleeding in all women giving birth, and to explore how the effects vary by underlying risk and other patient characteristics.

The systematic review and individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis will address important clinical questions about the effectiveness and safety of the use of TXA for the prevention of postpartum bleeding that cannot be answered reliably using aggregate data and will inform the decision of who to treat. 

Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS): Manhiça site description, Mozambique

The final article on our most-read list, with over 490 views,is an Open Letter introducing the Manhiça Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) site and the CHAMPS research environment in Mozambique.

The HDSS site and CHAMPS program aims to investigate causes of death in stillbirths and children under the age of 5 years, and the ultimate aim is to improve child survival through public health actions derived from credible estimates and understanding of the major causes of childhood mortality in Mozambique.

Looking to the future

We want to take this opportunity to thank all the authors and peer reviewers who have published and reviewed with Gates Open Research this year.

We look forward to seeing more cutting-edge research published in 2024, and to welcoming more authors to the platform.

If you’re new to Gates Open Research and would like to learn more, or are just looking for more information on the platform and how it works, visit the website for more information and what you can expect when submitting your research.