Activity of the Tobacco Industry in Research and Scientific Literature.

Introduction: Tobacco companies conduct and fund research. They are not always interested in open-ended research. They promote their interests through public relations campaigns. It's a proven fact that they influence the scientific community by impairing scientific reputation, especially in the case of health-related research. Methods: To obtain a comprehensive picture of research and funding activities of the tobacco industry as well as studies about the tobacco industry, respective scientific articles were analyzed in terms of temporal aspects, research areas, networking, and funding sources using established and advanced bibliometric methods. Results: We found the foci of publications with tobacco industry involvement or funding were mainly in chemistry, toxicology, pharmacology, and agricultural sciences. Health-related scopes occurred much less frequently. In contrast, health and medical sciences were the main focus of publications on the tobacco industry. The Chinese state-owned CNTC was the most research-involved tobacco company and often networked with Chinese academic institutions. Whereas, Western universities, on the other hand, collaborated with tobacco companies to a much lesser extent. Conclusion: Conflicts of interest of researchers or academic institutions with the tobacco industry occur repeatedly. That is highly problematic and should not be ignored by the scientific community. The science and the public should be skeptical about tobacco industry-supported research.

How developing a point of need training tool for evidence synthesis can improve librarian support for researchers.

Medical and health sciences librarians who are involved in evidence synthesis projects will know that systematic reviews are intensely rigorous, requiring research teams to devote significant resources to the methodological process. As expert searchers, librarians are often identified as personnel to conduct the database searching portion and/or are approached as experts in the methodology to guide research teams through the lifecycle of the project. This research method has surged in popularity at our campus and demand for librarian participation is unsustainable. As a response to this, the library created self-directed learning objects in the form of roadmap to assist researchers in learning about the knowledge synthesis methodology in an expedient, self-directed manner. This paper will discuss the creation, implementation and feedback around our educational offering: Systematic & Scoping Reviews: Your Roadmap to Conducting an Evidence Synthesis.

Evidencing the impacts of health research: Insights from trials reported in the 2018 Australian Engagement and Impact Assessment.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: While definitions of impact may vary, they often refer to the wider benefits of research evidenced beyond academia. We evaluated case studies featuring randomised trials from the 2018 Engagement and Impact Assessment to better understand how the impacts of health research are evidenced and assessed within Australia. METHODS: We collated and evaluated 'high' scoring case studies submitted by higher education institutions with a focus on randomised trials across all areas of health research. A qualitative coding system was used for manual content analysis to assess the key characteristics of trials reported, subsequent impacts and the methods used to evidence impacts. RESULTS: A total of 14 case studies were identified citing 35 clinical trials. The majority of interventions were behavioural with a focus on mental, behavioural or neurodevelopmental disorders. Most trials were phase III, focused on the treatment of the indication and were funded by industry. Contribution to clinical guidelines was the highest cited research impact. While there was evidence of researchers seeking to maximise trial impact, case studies lacked details on the role of trial participants and other beneficiaries in generating impact. CONCLUSIONS: The impacts of health research can be improved through a better understanding of the priorities and agendas of funders, providing evidence of tangible impact rather than information that is contextual or predictive, and through the early development of impact strategies involving both researchers and beneficiaries. SO WHAT?: Large-scale impact exercises intended for a broad range of disciplines may not be reflective of the depth and scope of health sciences research including trials.

Insuficiencias en proyectos de investigación de residentes de Estomatología General Integral: alerta necesaria

Fundamento: los proyectos de tesis de los residentes representan una de las actividades fundamentales en su desarrollo científico. Objetivo: describir las principales dificultades encontradas en los proyectos de investigación de los residentes de Estomatología General Integral. Métodos: se realizó un estudio observacional descriptivo retrospectivo en la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de Sagua la Grande en el periodo 2014-2022. Se utilizaron métodos teóricos y empíricos para la fundamentación de la investigación y recogida de información. Se confeccionó un modelo para la recogida de datos extraídos de los proyectos, y se elaboró una base de datos para su almacenamiento. Resultados: las principales dificultades constatadas fueron: no sustentar adecuadamente la investigación, dificultades en la redacción del problema científico, específicamente en la relación entre el problema y el tipo de investigación, la conceptualización y/o operacionalización de las variables, la selección y elaboración de los métodos, técnicas e instrumentos para la recogida de la información y la acotación de la bibliografía por normas de Vancouver. Conclusiones: se constataron las principales dificultades en los proyectos de investigación de los residentes de Estomatología General Integral por la necesidad de que desarrollen habilidades investigativas desde el primer año de formación, para un mejor desempeño profesional, a partir de la aplicación del método científico en la solución de los problemas de salud bucal que se presenten en su quehacer diario.

Background: residents' thesis projects represent one of the fundamental activities in their scientific development. Objective: to describe the main difficulties found in the research projects of Comprehensive General dentistry residents. Methods: a retrospective descriptive observational study was carried out at Sagua la Grande Faculty of Medical Sciences from 2014 to 2022. Theoretical and empirical methods were used to support the research and collect information. A model was created for data collection extracted from the projects, and a database was created for its storage. Results: the main difficulties found were: not adequately supporting the research, difficulties in writing the scientific problem, specifically in the relationship between the problem and the type of research, the conceptualization and/or operationalization of the variables, the selection and preparation of the methods, techniques and instruments for collecting information and delimiting the bibliography according to Vancouver standards. Conclusions: the main difficulties were confirmed in the research projects of the residents of Comprehensive General Dentistry due to the need for them to develop research skills from the first year of training, for better professional performance, based on the application of the scientific method in the solution to oral health problems that arise in everyday life.

Interventions to enhance the research productivity of academic staff in higher education schools of nursing: A systematic review.

AIM: Synthesize and present peer-reviewed evidence of interventions that enhance the research productivity of academics in Schools of Nursing in Higher Education Institutions. BACKGROUND: Pressures on academics in Schools of Nursing worldwide to increase or maintain high research productivity persist and numerous Higher Education Institutions across the world have developed interventions to increase productivity. Given evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a withdrawal from research, understanding which interventions best support and improve research productivity is urgent. Increasing research capacity is crucial but only one element in increasing productivity. No recent attempt has been made to synthesise the knowledge gained from these more wide-ranging initiatives. DESIGN: A mixed-methods systematic review, registered in PROSPERO, searching four academic databases (CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO) from 1/01/2010-20/04/2022. All primary research studies of relevant interventions were included if they described the intervention, reported its outcomes and were published in the English language in peer-reviewed journals. RESULTS: 1637 studies were assessed against eligibility criteria, resulting in 20 included studies. No studies were excluded based on quality. Data pertaining to understandings of 'research productivity', barriers to research productivity, interventions and outcomes of interventions were extracted. The most often used measures were the frequency or staff-output ratio of funding, publications and presentations, while the less commonly used were the number of conference abstracts submitted/accepted and awards. Subjective measures were less commonly used. Barriers to research productivity fell into three broad categories: resource constraints, lack of priority for research and barriers related to the attitudes, knowledge and skills of School of Nursing academics. Interventions covered nine broad areas. Half of the interventions were multi-stranded, including a wide range of components to increase research productivity while the other half comprised one component only, such as writing groups and mentoring. All interventions had a positive impact on research productivity, however, heterogeneity in the measurement of impact, the duration of interventions, sources of comparative data and research design made comparison of interventions challenging. CONCLUSIONS: The review identified a need for future research to explore the barriers among under-represented groups of academics in Schools of Nursing across a broader geographical area; and what works for various sub-groups of academics. It also identified a need for a valid, standardised tool to assess the effectiveness of interventions to increase research productivity of academics in Schools of Nursing.

Nationally funded health management projects for older adults in China and the United States: Comparative analysis based on data from two principal institutions.

Objectives: To systematically summarize and compare the health management projects on the aged population funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in China. Methods: All elderly-related projects from 2007 to 2022 were retrieved by searching the project titles, abstracts, and keywords such as "older adults," "elderly," "aged," "health management," and so on. Python, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer were used to extract, integrate, and visualize the relevant information. Results: A total of 499 NSFC projects and 242 NIH projects were retrieved. For both countries, prestigious universities and institutions received the most funded projects; the projects that got the most funds were longitudinal studies. Both countries attach great importance to investment in the health management of the aged population. However, different focuses existed in health management projects for older adults in the two countries due to distinct national conditions and development levels. Conclusions: The analysis results of this study can provide a reference for other countries with similar challenges of population aging. Effective measures should be taken to promote the transformation and implementation practice of the project achievements. Nurses can benefit from these projects and facilitate the translation of relevant research findings into clinical practice to improve nursing quality for older adults.

NIDA Boosts Research and Development of Medical Devices for Substance use Disorder via the NIH Blueprint MedTech Initiative.

Background: Deaths from drug overdose have reached a crisis level, with more than 100,000 reported from April 2020 to April 2021. Novel approaches to address it are urgently needed. Objectives: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is leading novel comprehensive efforts to develop safe and effective products that address the needs of the citizens affected by SUD. NIDA aims to support research and development of medical devices intended to monitor, diagnose, or treat substance use disorders. Results: NIDA participates in Blueprint MedTech program is part of the large NIH Blueprint for Neurological Research Initiative. It supports the research and development of new medical devices through product optimization, pre-clinical testing, and human subject studies, including clinical trials. The program is structured in two main components - Blueprint MedTech Incubator and Blueprint MedTech Translator. It offers free to the researcher services that are typically unavailable in academic environment - business expertise facilities and staffing to successfully develop minimum viable devices, pre-clinical bench testing, clinical studies, planning and executing in manufacturing, as well as regulatory expertise. Conclusions: Through Blueprint MedTech, NIDA provides innovators with expanded resources to ensure the success of the research.

Sources of funding for research articles in medical education journals from 1999 to 2019.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies report that most published medical education research is unfunded. We sought to determine the extent and sources of funding for medical education research articles published in leading journals, and how these have changed in the last two decades. METHODS: All research articles published in Academic Medicine, Advances in Health Sciences Education, Medical Education and Medical Teacher in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019 were reviewed for funding declarations. Funding sources were categorised as: government; university; healthcare organisation; private not-for-profit organisation; and for-profit company. Time trends were analysed using the Cochran-Armitage test. RESULTS: 1822 articles were analysed. Over the aggregate 20-year period, 44% of all articles reported funding, with the proportion increasing from 30% in 1999 to 50% in 2019 (p < .001). The proportion of articles with government (10% to 16%, p = .049), university (6% to 17% p < .001), and not-for-profit funding sources (15% to 20%, p = .04) increased. Proportions of healthcare (3% to 4%, p = .45) and for-profit funding (2% to 1%, p = .25) did not significantly change with time. CONCLUSIONS: Over the last 20 years, the proportion of funded published medical education research has significantly increased, as has funding from government, universities, and not-for-profit sources. This may assist researchers in identifying funders with a track record of supporting medical education research, and enhances transparency of where research funding in the field originates.

Construction and operational practice of the clinical research support platform based on research wards / 中华医学科研管理杂志

Objective:This study aims to summarize the construction and operation results of a clinical research support platform in a large grade A tertiary hospital in Beijing, and to explore the top-level design, functional positioning, and operation management based on research wards, thereby providing a reference for improving the clinical research support system in China.Methods:Guided by the needs of clinical research, the clinical research support platform consisted of seven core functional units, including the clinical trial platform, medical ethical review platform, medical experiment and clinical testing platform, clinical research big data platform, clinical research methodology platform, scientific and technological achievements transformation platform, and biobank.Results:The clinical research support platform with perfect functions, scientific management, and efficient operation can provide strong technical support for efficient operation of research wards, high-quality development of clinical trials, and rapid transformation of innovative results.Conclusions:A high-level clinical research support platform can effectively integrate medical resources, promote resource sharing and cooperation, promote the deep integration of industry, academia, research, and medicine, and enhance the collaboration and scientific level of clinical research.

Analysis of funding in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging research projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2013 to 2022 / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To analyze the application and funding status of various projects of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) from 2013 to 2022, and explore the challenges faced by basic research and clinical transformation in this field.Methods:From 2013 to 2022, application and funding information of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging projects (secondary code H2704, H2706) from five departments of Medical Science Department of NSFC were retrospectively collected. The number of applications, number of funding, funding direction, funding intensity, distribution of supporting units and research hotspots of various projects in this field were analyzed.Results:From 2013 to 2022, the total number of applications of various projects in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging reached 5 387, and the total number of grants reached 899. The number of applications and grants showed a steady growth trend. The overall funding intensity increased from 48.935 0 million yuan in 2013 to 59.495 4 million yuan in 2022, with the increase of 21.58%. Among all supporting units, Shanghai Jiao Tong University topped the list for both the number of applications (440) and the number of grants (82), Xiamen University ranked the first in terms of overall funding rate (25.42%, 30/118), and Peking University ranked the first in terms of total funding intensity (41.897 1 million yuan). Research hotspots focused on the construction of tumor targeted molecular probes and precise imaging of tumor internal molecular components.Conclusion:In the past decade, the number of related projects and total funding of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging supported by NSFC have steadily increased, and the types of funded projects are diverse and interdisciplinary, promoting the innovative development of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging disciplines in China.

Modelo de evaluación de la competencia investigativa del licenciado en Imagenología / Model for evaluating the researching competence of the graduate in Imaging

Fundamento: la evaluación del desempeño profesional y la competencia constituye el eje fundamental del modelo cubano para el análisis y evaluación de la calidad en la educación y práctica médicas. Objetivo: diseñar un modelo de evaluación de la competencia investigativa del licenciado en Imagenología. Métodos: se realizó una investigación de desarrollo en los centros de atención secundaria del municipio Holguín desde 2021 a 2022. Se emplearon métodos teóricos: histórico-lógico, análisis-síntesis, sistémico-estructural-funcional y modelación; y empíricos: análisis documental y cuestionario a licenciados en Imagenología. Para la valoración del modelo se empleó el criterio de 10 especialistas con reconocido prestigio en los centros de atención. Los indicadores fueron la pertinencia, utilidad, factibilidad. Resultados: se constataron insuficiencias en la competencia investigativa evidenciadas en el desempeño profesional. Se elaboró un modelo de evaluación compuesto por dos subsistemas: teórico funcional y contextualización; de sus relaciones deviene una nueva cualidad que se enuncia en la mejora del desempeño profesional investigativo para la solución de problemas tecnológicos y biomédicos. Conclusiones: los dos subsistemas que componen el modelo de evaluación de la competencia investigativa tienen una relación de coordinación. Los especialistas lo valoraron como pertinente, útil y factible de ser aplicado.

Background: the evaluation of professional performance and competence constitutes the fundamental axis of the Cuban model for the analysis and evaluation of quality in medical education and practice. Objective: to design a model for evaluating the research competence of the graduate in Imaging. Methods: a development investigation was carried out in the secondary care centers of the Holguín municipality from 2021 to 2022. Theoretical methods were used: historical-logical, analysis-synthesis, systemic-structural-functional and modeling; and empirical: documentary analysis and questionnaire to graduates in Imaging. To evaluate the model, the criteria of 10 specialists with recognized prestige in care centers were used. The indicators were relevance, usefulness, feasibility. Results: insufficiencies in the researching competence were found, evidenced in professional performance. An evaluation model composed of two subsystems was developed: functional theory and contextualization; from their relationships becomes a new quality that is expressed in the improvement of professional researching performance for the solution of technological and biomedical problems. Conclusions: the two subsystems that make up the research competence evaluation model have a coordination relationship. The specialists valued it as pertinent, useful and feasible to be applied.

Assessing National Institutes of Health Prevention Research on Leading Causes of Death Focused on Racial or Ethnic Minority Populations, Fiscal Years 2016-2020.

Objective: To characterize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) prevention research portfolio on leading causes of death focused on racial or ethnic minority populations. Research Design: Longitudinal analysis of NIH-funded prevention research projects from FY2016-FY2020. Measures: Project characteristics including type of prevention, study design, budget, minority health focus, and causes of death addressed. Results: Minority health projects comprised 27.0% of prevention projects and 33.1% of funding across all leading causes of death. Homicide (42.9%), diabetes (36.3%), and stroke (35.5%) had the highest proportion of minority health projects and suicide (20.2%), Alzheimer disease (18.8%), and pneumonia or influenza (8.3%) the lowest. Most minority health projects focused on identifying risk factors or on primary prevention efforts (80.3%). Most projects had an observational design (80.0%), and this predominance was observed for each cause of death. There was a significant correlation between the proportion of minority health projects for cause of death and the ratio of minorities versus non-minorities mortality rate. Conclusions: Only about one-fourth of NIH-funded prevention research on leading causes of death focused on racial or ethnic minorities, who currently comprise about 40% of the US population. Only a small fraction of minority health prevention projects included an intervention design, suggesting a limited contribution to the evidence base on effective interventions to address racial or ethnic mortality disparities. Also, we identified that the number of projects increase where mortality rate disparities are higher. This portfolio analysis provides a useful baseline to assess future progress in building the minority health prevention research portfolio, a critical component to promoting health equity in population health.

[Analysis of project funding in occupational Health and Epidemiology of National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2008 to 2019].

Objective: To analysis the projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China in the fields of occupational health (code H2602) and occupational diseases (code H2402) from 2008 to 2019, to provide a reference for the project application of scientific researchers in the field of occupational diseases in China. Methods: In October 2021, the information of all National Natural Science Foundation projects in the field of occupational health and occupational diseases from 2008 to 2019 was collected through LetPub website. It mainly analyzes the types of funded projects, the types of supporting units, the occupational disease hazard factors of the funded projects, the types of occupational injuries and representative research directions. Results: From 2008 to 2019, the National Natural Science Foundation of China funded a total of 282 projects in the field of occupational health and occupational diseases, with a total funding of 113.902 million yuan. Among them, 138 projects (48.94%) were funded, 96 (34.04%) were funded by youth science funds, and 35 projects (12.41%) were funded by regional science funds. 31 (79.93%) funded projects relied on the type of institutions of higher learning, 126 (46.84%) occupational disease hazard factors were chemical factors, and 83 (30.86%) occupational damage types were lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis. Epigenetic regulation is the most important representative research direction of the funded projects. Conclusion: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) project funding in the field of occupational health and occupational diseases in China has maintained a stable trend, but there are still problems such as incomplete funding system and late start of some research directions.

National Institutes of Health diversity supplements: Perspectives from administrative insiders.

BACKGROUND: The NIH Diversity Administrative Supplement is a funding mechanism that provides support for diverse early-stage researchers. There is limited guidance on how to apply for these awards. PURPOSE: We describe perspectives of NIH program/diversity officers and university research administrators offering recommendations for diversity supplement submission. METHODS: This article is the product of a working group exploring diversity in research. Nursing faculty from an R2 Historically Black College and University and an R1 research intensive university conducted stakeholder interviews with NIH program/diversity officers and university research administrators. We used content analysis to categorize respondents' recommendations. FINDINGS: Recommendations centered on harmonizing the applicant with the program announcement, communication with program/diversity officers, mentor/mentee relationship, scientific plan, and systematic institutional approaches to the diversity supplement. DISCUSSION: Successful strategies in submitting diversity supplements will facilitate inclusion of diverse researchers in NIH-sponsored programs. Systematic approaches are needed to support development of diverse voices to enhance the scientific community.

Health sciences librarian research and instruction services in pandemic information environments.

This study examined research and instruction services provided by academic health sciences librarians in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 205 respondents (N = 205) completed an anonymous online survey about academic health sciences librarian involvement in providing research and instruction services during the global pandemic. In-depth literature searching services (86%, n = 176), curated COVID-19 research through guides (66%, n = 135), and systematic review consultations (53%, n = 109) were reported as the top three research services in demand. Librarians supported online teaching and learning at their institutions by providing online instruction for a course (92%, n = 189), facilitating access to licensed resources (73%, n = 150), and identifying open access and open educational resources (62%, n = 127). Overall, this study contributes to understanding pandemic-responsive academic library services to meet the unique needs of health sciences education and research in evolving COVID-19 pandemic information environments.