Doctoral theses at the medical faculty of Tunis from 2015 to 2017: scientific publication rates and associated factors

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Published May 30, 2024
https://doi.org/10.62438/tunismed.v102i6.4958
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Vol. 102 No. 6 (2024): Tunis med jun 2024

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Hajer Attia
Physical Medicine Department, Principal Military Hospital, Tunis-Tunisia
Salsabil Rejaibi
Direction of primary healthcare services (DSSB), Tunis, Faculty of Medicine of Tunis-University of Tunis El Manar , Tunis-Tunisia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3012-9337
Ghada Wechtati
Physical Medicine Department, Principal Military Hospital, Tunis-Tunisia
Ali Mrabet
Ministry of Health, Tunis -Faculty of Medicine of Tunis- University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis , Tunisia
Nebiha Borsali Falfoul
Intensive Care Unit, Habib Thameur University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine of Tunis-Universityof Tunis El Manar , Tunis-Tunisia
Aschraf Chadli
Pathology Department, Habib Thameur University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine of Tunis-University of Tunis El Manar , Tunis-Tunisia

Abstract

Introduction: Medical doctoral thesis publication is a way to ensure knowledge dissemination and to increase the scientific research visibility.


Aim: To determine thesis-related publication’s rate at the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis (FMT), and identify associated factors.


Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective study including medical theses registered at the FMT over the study period (2015-2017). All publications related to the defended thesis were collated by scanning Scopus and Google scholar databases, up to April 2022. Binary logistic regression was performed to assess associated factors to publication. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) were presented with 95% confidence interval.


Results: Out of 878 defended theses, 11.8% (n=104) were published. Out of 130 publications in total, 90 (69.2%) interested Scopus-indexed journals with a mean Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) of 0.70. The publication was in English in 73.1% of cases. The median time between the thesis defense and the first scientific publication was 15 months. In multivariable analysis, associated factors to “at least one thesis-related publication” were the resident status of the candidate (AOR=2.35 [1.2-4.7]) and the grade assistant professor of the thesis supervisor (AOR=2.48 [1.1-5.6]).


Conclusion: Compared to the number of defended theses, the thesis-related publication’s rate at the FMT is relatively low. Thus, enhanced support for doctoral students to optimize their engagement in research and to consequently promote scientific publication is highly recommended.

Keywords:

Academic dissertation, abstract , publication , bibliometrics, medical faculty, Tunisia

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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