Title |
Professional medical writing support and the quality of randomised controlled trial reporting: a cross-sectional study
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Published in |
BMJ Open, February 2016
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DOI | 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010329 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
William T Gattrell, Sally Hopewell, Kate Young, Paul Farrow, Richard White, Elizabeth Wager, Christopher C Winchester |
Abstract |
Authors may choose to work with professional medical writers when writing up their research for publication. We examined the relationship between medical writing support and the quality and timeliness of reporting of the results of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Cross-sectional study. Primary reports of RCTs published in BioMed Central journals from 2000 to 16 July 2014, subdivided into those with medical writing support (n=110) and those without medical writing support (n=123). Proportion of items that were completely reported from a predefined subset of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist (12 items known to be commonly poorly reported), overall acceptance time (from manuscript submission to editorial acceptance) and quality of written English as assessed by peer reviewers. The effect of funding source and publication year was examined. The number of articles that completely reported at least 50% of the CONSORT items assessed was higher for those with declared medical writing support (39.1% (43/110 articles); 95% CI 29.9% to 48.9%) than for those without (21.1% (26/123 articles); 95% CI 14.3% to 29.4%). Articles with declared medical writing support were more likely than articles without such support to have acceptable written English (81.1% (43/53 articles); 95% CI 67.6% to 90.1% vs 47.9% (23/48 articles); 95% CI 33.5% to 62.7%). The median time of overall acceptance was longer for articles with declared medical writing support than for those without (167 days (IQR 114.5-231 days) vs 136 days (IQR 77-193 days)). In this sample of open-access journals, declared professional medical writing support was associated with more complete reporting of clinical trial results and higher quality of written English. Medical writing support may play an important role in raising the quality of clinical trial reporting. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 25 | 30% |
United States | 8 | 10% |
Spain | 4 | 5% |
Hong Kong | 2 | 2% |
Australia | 1 | 1% |
Luxembourg | 1 | 1% |
France | 1 | 1% |
Portugal | 1 | 1% |
Ireland | 1 | 1% |
Other | 4 | 5% |
Unknown | 36 | 43% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 45 | 54% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 30 | 36% |
Scientists | 7 | 8% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 1 | 3% |
Italy | 1 | 3% |
Unknown | 36 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 8 | 21% |
Other | 6 | 16% |
Student > Master | 4 | 11% |
Librarian | 2 | 5% |
Student > Postgraduate | 2 | 5% |
Other | 4 | 11% |
Unknown | 12 | 32% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 15 | 39% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 2 | 5% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 2 | 5% |
Social Sciences | 2 | 5% |
Computer Science | 1 | 3% |
Other | 3 | 8% |
Unknown | 13 | 34% |