Jan Klimas1,2, Huiru Dong1, Michee-Ana Hamilton1, Walter Cullen2, Jeffrey H Samet3, Evan Wood1,4, Nadia Fairbairn1,4. 1. British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, Vancouver, BC, Canada. 2. School of Medicine, Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. 3. Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. 4. Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Abstract
Background: To evaluate how an international one-year intensive research training program for addiction medicine physicians contributed to subsequent research involvement and productivity. Methods: We prospectively compared addiction medicine physician fellows admitted to a one-year training program with non-admitted controls, using baseline questionnaire and peer-reviewed publication data. Participants' publication activity was assessed from fellowship application date onwards using biomedical databases (e.g., PubMed, Embase). Results: Between July 2014 and June 2020, which is six years of cohorts, 56 (39 women) physicians, both fellows (n = 25) and non-admitted applicants (n = 31), were observed and included in the study, contributing 261 person-years of observation. At baseline, in the fellows' cohort: 76% of participants (19/25) reported past research involvement, 24% (6/25) had one or more advanced graduate degrees (e.g., MPH), and the median number of peer-reviewed, first author publications was one (Interquartile Range [IQR] = 0-2). At baseline, in the controls' cohort: 84% of participants (26/31) reported past research involvement, 39% (12/31) had one or more advanced graduate degrees, and the median number of peer-reviewed, first author publications was zero. The physicians' training included internal medicine (n = 8), family medicine (n = 33), psychiatry (n = 5) and others (n = 4). At follow up, there was a significant difference between fellows (n = 25) and controls (n = 31) in total number of publications (Rate Ratio [RR] = 13.09, 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 5.01 - 34.21, p < 0.001), as well as first author publications (RR = 5.59, 95% CI, 2.23 - 14.06, p < 0.001). Conclusion: In the six-year observation period, fellows' productivity indicates undertaking this fellowship was associated with significant research outputs in comparison to controls, signaling successful training of addiction physicians to help recruit addiction medicine physicians to participate in addiction research.
Background: To evaluate how an international one-year intensive research training program for addiction medicine physicians contributed to subsequent research involvement and productivity. Methods: We prospectively compared addiction medicine physician fellows admitted to a one-year training program with non-admitted controls, using baseline questionnaire and peer-reviewed publication data. Participants' publication activity was assessed from fellowship application date onwards using biomedical databases (e.g., PubMed, Embase). Results: Between July 2014 and June 2020, which is six years of cohorts, 56 (39 women) physicians, both fellows (n = 25) and non-admitted applicants (n = 31), were observed and included in the study, contributing 261 person-years of observation. At baseline, in the fellows' cohort: 76% of participants (19/25) reported past research involvement, 24% (6/25) had one or more advanced graduate degrees (e.g., MPH), and the median number of peer-reviewed, first author publications was one (Interquartile Range [IQR] = 0-2). At baseline, in the controls' cohort: 84% of participants (26/31) reported past research involvement, 39% (12/31) had one or more advanced graduate degrees, and the median number of peer-reviewed, first author publications was zero. The physicians' training included internal medicine (n = 8), family medicine (n = 33), psychiatry (n = 5) and others (n = 4). At follow up, there was a significant difference between fellows (n = 25) and controls (n = 31) in total number of publications (Rate Ratio [RR] = 13.09, 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 5.01 - 34.21, p < 0.001), as well as first author publications (RR = 5.59, 95% CI, 2.23 - 14.06, p < 0.001). Conclusion: In the six-year observation period, fellows' productivity indicates undertaking this fellowship was associated with significant research outputs in comparison to controls, signaling successful training of addiction physicians to help recruit addiction medicine physicians to participate in addiction research.
Entities:
Keywords:
Substance-related disorders; addiction medicine research; medical education; program evaluation; prospective studies; research design
Authors: Aimee N C Campbell; Sudie E Back; Jamie S Ostroff; Denise A Hien; Marc N Gourevitch; Christine E Sheffer; Kathleen T Brady; Kathleen Hanley; Sewit Bereket; Sarah Book Journal: J Addict Med Date: 2017 Sep/Oct Impact factor: 3.702