Description of research design of articles published in four Brazilian physical therapy journals

Abstract

BackgroundWhile the research design of articles published in medical journals and in some physical therapy journals has already been evaluated, this has not been investigated in Brazilian physical therapy journals. ObjectiveTo describe the research design used in all articles published in Brazilian scientific journals that are freely available, have high Qualis rankings, and are relevant to physical therapy over a 7-year period. MethodWe extracted the bibliometric data, research design, research type (human or animal), and clinical area for all articles published. The articles were grouped into their level of evidence, and descriptive analyses were performed. We calculated the frequency, proportions of articles, and 95% confidence interval of these proportions with each research design in each journal. We cross-tabulated the clinical areas with research designs (expressed as number and percentages). ResultsA total of 1,458 articles from four Brazilian journals were found: Revista Brasileira de Fisioterapia, Revista Fisioterapia em Movimento, Revista Fisioterapia e Pesquisa, and Revista Acta Fisiátrica. The majority of articles were classified as level II of evidence (60%), followed by level III (29%) and level I (10%). The most prevalent research designs were cross-sectional studies (38%), single-case or case-series studies, and narrative reviews. Most articles reported human research and were in the musculoskeletal, neurologic, and cardiothoracic areas. ConclusionsMost of the research published in Brazilian physical therapy journals used levels II and III of evidence. Increasing the publication rate of systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials would provide more high-quality evidence to guide evidence-based physical therapy practice.

Factor structure and short version of the modified Fresno test to assess the use of the evidence-based practice in physiotherapists

“…Evidence-Based Physiotherapy (EBP) consists of using the best available evidence to guide therapeutic decisions [ 1 – 3 ]. The decision-making process must consider judiciously three requirements [ 4 – 7 ], clinical research of high quality, professional knowledge, and the patient’s preferences. The physiotherapists should follow five steps to effectively translate the evidence into practice: [ 2 – 8 ] 1) convert the need for information in clinical question (s); 2) find the best evidence to answer issues (s); 3) critically assess the validity of the evidence located; 4) fit the evidence into practice considering the professional knowledge and the patient’s preferences, and 5) to evaluate the effectiveness in the execution of the 4 previous stages.…”

Benefits of Home‐Based Respiratory Muscle Training from the Perspectives of Individuals Who Had a Stroke: Qualitative Study

“…15 To promote effective rehabilitation for these patients in evidence-based practice, decisions with respect to interventions should be based on high-quality clinical evidence, professional experience, and patientsʼ preferences. 16,17 Even when recommendations are built on rigorous evidence, patients often have widely varying preferences. 18 Therefore, there is a need to better understand the preferences of patients with respect to high-intensity home-based respiratory muscle training.…”

“…To promote effective rehabilitation for these patients in evidence‐based practice, decisions with respect to interventions should be based on high‐quality clinical evidence, professional experience, and patientsʼ preferences . Even when recommendations are built on rigorous evidence, patients often have widely varying preferences .…”

An Overview of Thematic Evolution of Physical Therapy Research Area From 1951 to 2013

“…As conclusion, the research for adolescents, older adults, and for upper and lower extremity were considered as important for the future. Saragiotto et al (2014) described the study designs employed in the Brazilian Physical Therapy production, addressing that most of the research used levels II and III of evidence. Martínez-Fuentes (2014) and Martínez-Fuentes et al (2014) treated to characterize the intellectual basis of the Physical Therapy area through a co-citation analysis in three international impact journals (Physical Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Australian Journal of Physiotherapy).…”