Identifying major research themes in the literature on developmental disabilities in Middle Eastern countries: A scientometric review from 1962 to 2023

• Published in: Research in developmental disabilities 2023-09, Vol.140, p.104551-104551, Article 104551
• Main Authors: Fong, Seraphina, Carollo, Alessandro, Ashour, Rola, Dimitriou, Dagmara, Gianluca Esposito
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CiteSpace; Developmental disabilities; Middle Eastern countries; Scientometrics
• ISSN: 0891-4222; 1873-3379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104551

Developmental disabilities have been widely studied in higher-income countries. However, most individuals with these conditions live in low- and middle-income countries and they are reportedly under-represented in the scientific literature. To tackle this issue, previous research has provided insight into the thematic developments in the research on developmental disabilities in Africa by means of a scientometric approach to reviews. The current work aims to extend the scientometric approach to investigate the main interests in the literature on developmental disabilities conducted in Middle Eastern countries. A total of 1110 documents were retrieved from Scopus and their patterns of co-citation were analysed with the CiteSpace software. Research in Developmental Disabilities emerged to be the main source in the sample of downloaded documents. Furthermore, a total of six main thematic domains and the four most impactful documents in the literature were identified. Results showed that research on developmental disabilities in the Middle East has been mainly focused on uncovering the genetic basis of this group of conditions. The study of clinical profiles, diagnosis, management, and treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities have been so far under-investigated and represents material for future studies. •All literature on developmental disabilities in Middle Eastern countries was analysed with a scientometric approach.•A total of 1110 documents from 1962 to 2023 and their 33,634 citations were analysed.•Research in Developmental Disabilities emerged to be the main source for documents in the field.•Document co-citation analysis identified six major thematic clusters, most of which focused on the genetics of developmental disabilities.