Multiagent Participation In The Regulation Of Medicines: A Scientometric Perspective

The fundamental factors in construction and preservation of a regulation system successful to ensure that all of the people obtain timely availability of medicines with safety and efficacy require much attention of Chinese people living with a weak regulation system of medicines. Therefore the aim of this dissertation is to find these fundamental factors. A lot of achievements have been made in study of regulation of medicines. However, most of them are limited in qualitative analysis of management of public affairs and few are scientometric investigation so far. This dissertation is an effort to apply scientometric methods in study of regulation of medicines.Regulation of medicines needs support of professional work of researchers in a variety of academic domains. Regulation of medicines is a domain where not only governmental agencies have an administrative duty but also the public must participate because of their vital interests involved. The participants from the public include non-government-owned businesses, a wide range of intermediary organizations, various civil societies and the media conveying public opinion, and therefore a pattern of multiagent participation emerges in this regulation domain. It is worth noting that this participation pattern can be reflected in the data about work files including policies and regulations issued by governmental agencies and proposals put forward by non-governmental organizations as well as in the data about academic achievements gotten in researches on regulation of medicines in a variety of disciplines. And to perform these researches is an indispensable and important way to participate in this regulation domain.The data about these work files and academic literature is the basis for comprehensive investigation and quantitative analysis of multiagent participation in regulation of medicines from scientometric perspective. This dissertation makes thorough exploration of environment of academic knowledge and social environment for existence of this public affairs domain in order to search fundamental factors in construction and preservation of a successful regulation system of medicines. The findings of studies in this dissertation can be guidance for establishment and improvement of a scientific, impartial and efficient regulation system of medicines.The data about these work files and academic literature come from three international or domestic, comprehensive or biomedical bibliographical databases. They are MEDLINE, SinoMed and Web of Science. Literature with main topic as regulation of medicines is derived from each database and makes up one or more samples analyzed respectively in the parts of this dissertation. Specific scientometric methods used in this dissertation are measurement of frequency of MeSH terms, co-citation analysis, keywords co-occurrence analysis, cluster analysis, citation analysis, visualization and analysis of institutions authoring the sample literature. Moreover, approach of literature study applied frequently in humanities and social sciences is combined with scientometric approach in this dissertation. So do the conception of Third Sector which has emerged in some domains in humanities and social sciences.With these analytical methods, this dissertation has found some fundamental factors in construction and preservation of a successful regulation system of medicines. These fundamental factors lie in 2 aspects and are summed up as below:1) In academic knowledge environment. A variety of disciplines is involved in the knowledge element of this regulation domain and forms a wide band in spectrum of disciplines in existing knowledge system. Abundant research achievements are tightly around all kinds of specific problems in regulation of medicines and make up the academic base of this regulation domain. These achievements include classics of long history as well as those published recently. Several of them play a key role in evolution of this academic base. Even each of the most specific conceptions having stemmed from the practice of regulation attracts researchers majoring in different disciplines. With the development of regulation practice, the meaning of these conceptions become more and more complex and academic thoughts concerned with them are being intensified all the time in the debate in order to ensure rationality and impartiality of decisions in regulation of medicines.2) In social environment. As far as a scientific, righteous and efficient regulation system of medicines is concerned, a developed market economy is substantial and technological basis of it and third sector's active participation in this regulation domain is a social prerequisite to its existence.In the light of results gained in studies in this dissertation, having analyzed-the existing problems in medicines regulation in China, suggestions are given including:1) to encourage researchers in a wide range of academic domains to do more researches concerned with this regulation domain, thus providing solid academic basis and effective theoretical support for regulation; 2) to revise related regualtions to encourage people living in different social strata and belonging to various civil societies to participate in this public affairs domain.