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Published on: July 19, 2011
Types of article published in physiotherapy journals: a quantitative analysis.
Matteo Paci1, Claudio Cigna, Marco Baccini
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Villa Fiorita Hospital, Prato, Italy. matteo.paci@applicazione.it
Summary
This study analyzed 1627 physiotherapy articles, finding observational studies most common and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) increasing over time. This shift supports evidence-based physiotherapy research.
Area of Science:
- Physiotherapy
- Medical Research
- Scientific Publishing
Background:
- Physiotherapy journals publish diverse research types.
- Understanding publication trends is crucial for evidence-based practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify and assess research and review article types in international physiotherapy journals.
- To identify the prevalence of different study designs in physiotherapy literature.
Main Methods:
- A five-year period of articles from nine international physiotherapy journals were analyzed.
- Articles were classified based on their study design.
Main Results:
- 1627 articles were reviewed; 12.60% were randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- Observational/descriptive studies were most frequent (18.75%), followed by validation studies (13.28%) and 'other' categories (13.34%).
- Meta-analyses were the rarest (1.29%); RCT numbers increased over the study period.
Conclusions:
- Article distribution in physiotherapy mirrors other scientific disciplines.
- The rise in RCTs signifies progress toward robust evidence-based physiotherapy research.
