Evaluating the Diversity of Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) Grant Recipients in the Last Decade.

INTRODUCTION: To study diversity of researchers and barriers to success among Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) grant recipients in the last 10 years. METHODS: EMF grant awardees were approached to complete a brief survey, which included demographics, queries related to contributions to the literature, success in obtaining grants, and any perceived barriers they encountered. RESULTS: Of the 342 researchers contacted by email, a total of 147 completed the survey for a response rate of 43%. The respondents were predominately mid to late career white-male-heterosexual-Christian with an average age of 44 years (range 25-69 years of age). With regards to training and education, the majority of respondents (50%) were either Associate or Professor clinical rank (8% instructor/resident/fellow and 31% Assistant). Sixty-two percent of the respondents reported perceived barriers to career advancement since completion of residency. The largest perceived barrier to success was medical specialty (26%), followed by gender (21%) and age (16%). CONCLUSION: Our survey of EMF grant recipients in the last 10 years shows a considerable lack of diversity. The most commonly perceived barriers to career advancement by this cohort were medical specialty, gender, and age. An opportunity exists for further definition of barriers and development of mechanisms to overcome them, with a goal of increased success for those that are underrepresented.

Privacy and Security Issues with Mobile Health Research Applications.

This article examines the privacy and security issues associated with mobile application-mediated health research, concentrating in particular on research conducted or participated in by independent scientists, citizen scientists, and patient researchers. Building on other articles in this issue that examine state research laws and state data protection laws as possible sources of privacy and security protections for mobile research participants, this article focuses on the lack of application of federal standards to mobile application-mediated health research. As discussed in more detail below, the voluminous and diverse data collected by some independent scientists who use mobile applications to conduct health research may be at risk for unregulated privacy and security breaches, leading to dignitary, psychological, and economic harms for which participants have few legally enforceable rights or remedies under current federal law. Federal lawmakers may wish to consider enacting new legislation that would require otherwise unregulated health data holders to implement reasonable data privacy, security, and breach notification measures.

Productivity of CNPq Researchers from Different Fields in Biomedical Sciences: The Need for Objective Bibliometric Parameters-A Report from Brazil.

In Brazil, the CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) provides grants, funds and fellowships to productive scientists to support their investigations. They are ranked and categorized into four hierarchical levels ranging from PQ 1A (the highest) to PQ 1D (the lowest). Few studies, however, report and analyse scientific productivity in different sub-fields of Biomedical Sciences (BS), e.g., Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Biophysics and Physiology. In fact, systematic comparisons of productivity among the PQ 1 categories within the above sub-fields are lacking in the literature. Here, the scientific productivity of 323 investigators receiving PQ 1 fellowships (A to D levels) in these sub-fields of BS was investigated. The Scopus database was used to compile the total number of articles, citations, h-index values and authorship positions (first-, co- or last-listed author) in the most cited papers by researchers granted CNPq fellowships. We found that researchers from Pharmacology had the best performance for all of the parameters analysed, followed by those in Biochemistry. There was great variability in scientific productivity within the PQ 1A level in all of the sub-fields of BS, but not within the other levels (1B, 1C and 1D). Analysis of the most cited papers of PQ 1(A-D) researchers in Pharmacology revealed that the citations of researchers in the 1C and 1D levels were associated with publications with their senior supervisors, whereas those in the 1B level were less connected with their supervisors in comparison to those in 1A. Taken together, these findings suggest that the scientific performance of PQ 1A researchers in BS is not homogenous. In our opinion, parameters such as the most cited papers without the involvement of Ph.D. and/or post-doctoral supervisors should be used to make decisions regarding any given researcher's fellowship award level.

Difference in R01 Grant Funding Among Osteopathic and Allopathic Emergency Physicians over the Last Decade.

INTRODUCTION: Receiving an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is regarded as a major accomplishment for the physician researcher and can be used as a means of scholarly activity for core faculty in emergency medicine (EM). However, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires that a grant must be obtained for it to count towards a core faculty member's scholarly activity, while the American Osteopathic Association states that an application for a grant would qualify for scholarly activity whether it is received or not. The aim of the study was to determine if a medical degree disparity exists between those who successfully receive an EM R01 grant and those who do not, and to determine the publication characteristics of those recipients. METHODS: We queried the NIH RePORTER search engine for those physicians who received an R01 grant in EM. Degree designation was then determined for each grant recipient based on a web-based search involving the recipient's name and the location where the grant was awarded. The grant recipient was then queried through PubMed central for the total number of publications published in the decade prior to receiving the grant. RESULTS: We noted a total of 264 R01 grant recipients during the study period; of those who received the award, 78.03% were allopathic physicians. No osteopathic physician had received an R01 grant in EM over the past 10 years. Of those allopathic physicians who received the grant, 44.17% held a dual degree. Allopathic physicians had an average of 48.05 publications over the 10 years prior to grant receipt and those with a dual degree had 51.62 publications. CONCLUSION: Allopathic physicians comprise the majority of those who have received an R01 grant in EM over the last decade. These physicians typically have numerous prior publications and an advanced degree.

Scientific Performance of Brazilian Researchers in Pharmacology with grants from CNPq: A comparative study within the Brazilian categories.

In Brazil, scientific performance of researchers is one important criteria for decision-making in grant allocation. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate and compare the profile of 82 seniors' investigators (graded as level 1A-D) which were receiving CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) productivity grant in Pharmacology, by analyzing the pattern of citation of their papers and h-index. Total documents, citations (with and without self-citations) and h-index (with and without self-citations) were retrieved from the Scopus database. The results indicated a clear difference among researchers from the higher categories (1A and 1B) in most of the parameters analyzed. However, no noticeable differentiation was found between researchers from grant category 1C and 1D. The results presented here may inform the scientific community and the grant agencies on the profile of PQ 1(A-D) fellows of Pharmacology, and may help to define new differences within CNPq grant categories, and consequently, a better allocation of grants.

Methods for identifying translational researchers.

There is currently no generally accepted method for identifying the community of translational researchers when evaluating Clinical and Translational Science Centers. We use data from the multiyear evaluation of the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) to investigate the complexities of reliably identifying translational researchers. We use three methods to identify translational researchers: (1) participating in CCTS services and programs; (2) self-identifying as a translational researcher; and (3) engaging in activities that are characteristic of translational science. We find little overlap of these differently defined research groups. We conclude with a discussion of how the findings suggest challenges for evaluating translational science programs and the need for better definition, communication, and demonstration of translational science for scientists and evaluators.

After the doctorate: a qualitative study investigating nursing research career development in Jordan.

There is a dearth of research exploring the development of postdoctoral nursing research careers in non-Western contexts. This paper reports on a qualitative study of Jordanian graduates of UK PhD programs. Interviews were held with 16 graduates who worked in the nursing faculty of seven different universities in Jordan. Participants reported that their doctoral degree had equipped them with confidence and enthusiasm for developing a research career. Mentorship, leadership, and peer support were identified as essential to supporting ongoing research activity. Access to these sources of support was variable and participants also described a range of institutional and organizational structures that directly or indirectly discouraged them from developing research productivity. This research suggests that support for postdoctoral novice researchers is an important area for further attention - for Jordanian universities, for UK PhD supervisors (and their associated academic departments), and for the wider nursing community.

Setting directions for capacity building in primary health care: a survey of a research network.

BACKGROUND: The South Australian Research Network 'SARNet' aims to build research capacity in primary health care, as part of a national government-funded strategy to integrate research into clinical practice. Internationally, research networks have been a fundamental part of research culture change, and a variety of network models exist. The 'SARNet' model uses a whole system, multidisciplinary approach to capacity building and supports individuals and groups. We undertook a descriptive baseline survey in order to understand the background and needs of SARNet members and to tailor network activities towards those needs. METHODS: A questionnaire survey, assessing members' professional background, research experience, and interest in research development and training, was sent to all members who joined the network in its first year. The visual 'research spider' tool was used to ascertain members' experience in ten core research skills, as well as their interest in developing these skills. Individuals were asked to classify themselves into one of four categories of researchers, based on previous research experience. These self-assessment categories ranged from non-participant to academic. RESULTS: Network membership was diverse. Of the 89 survey participants, 55% were general practitioners or allied health professionals. Overall, most survey respondents indicated little to moderate experience in 7 out of the 10 skills depicted in the 'research spider'. In comparison, respondents were generally highly interested in developing their research skills in all areas. Respondents' research skills correlated significantly with their self-assessed category of research participation (Spearman rank correlation, r = 0.82, p < 0.0005). Correlations between research category and publication record (Gamma association, gamma = 0.53, p < 0.0005) or funding record (Gamma association, gamma = 0.62, p < 0.0005) supported the internal validity of the survey instrument. CONCLUSION: Literature describing evaluation of the impact of networks is scarce. Our survey questionnaire could provide a useful instrument for evaluation of both networks and capacity building initiatives. The survey including the 'research spider' tool provided valuable information about members' needs and interest in strategies to develop their research skills. Initial needs analyses as well as on-going evaluation of network activities are important to include into the business plans of research networks, in order to ensure the network's effectiveness and support of its membership.

At what price? The current state of subject payment in adolescent research.

PURPOSE: To examine how subject payment was associated with study features, such as investigator characteristics and project specifics, among randomly selected studies using adolescent subjects. METHODS: Using Psychinfo we gathered a list of original research studies published in 1999 that used adolescent subjects. We randomly selected corresponding authors and mailed confidential questionnaires on subject payment. We gathered complete data from 127 authors of adolescent research. While our main outcome was subject payment, we also examined the monetary value and form of the payment. Predictor variables included the principal investigator's demographics and professional information and the project's design and sample. Data were analyzed using Student's t-tests, Pearson correlations, and logistic regression. RESULTS: Of the studies using adolescent subjects, 55% (n=61) involved payment. Total payment varied (range $1 to $600, mean=$82.35) and the mean value per session was $26.61. Investigator characteristics associated with payment were a principal investigator's current discipline area and the decade, level and area of highest educational degree obtained. Funding and protocol complexity were related to payment, as was the sample's size, gender composition, ethnic makeup, SES distribution, and at-risk status. Logistic regression analyses found that researchers using payment were 7.2 times more likely to have funding, 2.8 times more likely to work with at-risk youth, and for every unit increase in positive attitude toward compensation, there was a 1.1-fold increase in the likelihood of using payment. CONCLUSIONS: Of those who responded to our questionnaire, slightly more than one-half the 1999 published studies done with adolescents used payment; however, the amount paid varied tremendously.