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Abstract
The fate of all research-based abstracts presented by UK-based researchers at the 13th International AIDS conference (IAC) in 2000: publication rate and the barriers to publication
S. Jones
Background: Abstract-driven sessions at scientific conferences are a critical forum for the dissemination of new information and as such they form an integral part of research. However, they cannot equal the extent of dissemination possible through publication in a scientific journal. Past investigations have found that, on average, less than half (45%) of all abstracts presented at conferences are ever expanded into full-length journal articles. The aim of this study was to examine the fate of all research-based abstracts presented by UK-based researchers at the 13th IAC.
Methods: A Medline search established whether abstracts had been expanded into full-length journal articles. Abstract authors were also surveyed using self-reporting questionnaires to identify the details of any publication and the reasons associated with any failure to publish.
Results: Of the 139 abstracts that were both research-based and presented by UK-based researchers, 34% were found to have yielded articles that were published in peer-reviewed, indexed journals. Articles appeared in 31 different journals, with 28% of articles appearing in just one journal, AIDS. Mean journal Impact Factor was 3.908 and average time to publication was 18.91 months. Researchers indicated two main reasons why they had not submitted manuscripts: (1) ‘they lacked sufficient time’; and (2) ‘the study was too small to warrant publication’.
Conclusions: The overall publication rate of all research-based abstracts presented by UK-based researchers at the 13th IAC is 34%, lower than the 45% average reported by past investigations in other fields. Twenty-nine percent of unpublished abstracts described studies related to treatment, adherence or resistance issues – this research has effectively become ‘lost’. Failure to properly disseminate research limits the ability of others to critically appraise its validity, reliability and generalisability; therefore limiting its use in clinical practice, and guaranteeing its exclusion from systematic review. Failure to publish affects quality of care and could potentially cost lives.
AIDS 2006 - XVI International AIDS Conference
Abstract no.
MOPE0855
Suggested Citation
" S. Jones
The fate of all research-based abstracts presented by UK-based researchers at the 13th International AIDS conference (IAC) in 2000: publication rate and the barriers to publication.
:
AIDS 2006 - XVI International AIDS Conference:
Abstract no.
MOPE0855"
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