Journal reading habits of internists |
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Authors: | Dr Sanjay Saint MD MPH Dimitri A Christakis MD MPH Somnath Saha MD MPH Joann G Elmore MD MPH Deborah E Welsh MS Paul Baker ARNP Thomas D Koepsell MD MPH |
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Institution: | (1) the Division of General Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich;(2) Divisions of General Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash;(3) General Internal Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash;(4) Departments of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash;(5) Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash;(6) Division of General Internal Medicine, Portland VA Medical Center, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Ore;(7) Ann Arbor VA Health Services Research and Development, Ann Arbor, Mich;(8) Seattle VA Medical Center, Seattle, Wash |
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Abstract: | We assessed the reading habits of internists with and without epidemiological training because such information may help guide
medical journals as they make changes in how articles are edited and formatted. In a 1998 national self-administered mailed
survey of 143 internists with fellowship training in epidemiology and study design and a random sample of 121 internists from
the American Medical Association physician master file, we asked about the number of hours spent reading medical journals
per week and the percentage of articles for which only the abstract is read. Respondents also were asked which of nine medical
journals they subscribe to and read regularly. Of the 399 eligible participants, 264 returned surveys (response rate 66%).
Respondents reported spending 4.4 hours per week reading medical journal articles and reported reading only the abstract for
63% of the articles; these findings were similar for internists with and without epidemiology training. Respondents admitted
to a reliance on journal editors to provide rigorous and useful information, given the limited time available for critical
reading. We conclude that internists, regardless of training in epidemiology, rely heavily on abstracts and prescreening of
articles by editors.
This study was supported by the University of Washington Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and the Department
of Veterans Affairs. Drs. Christakis and Elmore are supported by Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Faculty Awards. Drs. Saint,
Christakis, and Saha were Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars at the time this work was conducted. |
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