Evolving Trends in Physiotherapy Research Publications between 1995 and 2015.

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics and research trends analysis in health sciences.
• Physiotherapy research evolution and impact assessment.

Background:

• Physiotherapy research has evolved over two decades, necessitating an analysis of its publication trends.
• Understanding shifts in research design, funding, and focus areas is crucial for the field's advancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comparatively analyze evolving trends in physiotherapy (PT) research publications from 1995 to 2015.
• To examine changes in research design, funding support, age groups, and health conditions within PT research.

Main Methods:

• Observational study utilizing PubMed-indexed data from 1995-2015.
• Medical Subject Headings were used to identify yearly PT publications and comparator fields (human health, physical rehabilitation).
• Data analysis involved calculating relative percentages and employing regression analysis to assess growth trends.

Main Results:

• Physiotherapy research publications grew exponentially as a percentage of human health research (0.54% to 2.37%) and physical rehabilitation research (38.2% to 58.7%).
• Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) formed the majority of PT publications, increasing from 45.1% to 59.4%.
• Declared funding rates increased significantly (29.7% to 57%), while PT research saw decreased focus on pediatric (0-18 years) and cardiovascular/pulmonary conditions, but increased focus on neoplasms.

Conclusions:

• Physiotherapy research has become more prevalent within broader health and physical rehabilitation research.
• The field increasingly relies on high-impact research designs like RCTs.
• Shifts in focus towards specific health conditions and age groups warrant further investigation.