Publishing in physical and rehabilitation medicine

Abstract

This paper presents the panel discussion from the 'Meet the Editor' symposium held at the 4th World Congress of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine in Seoul in June 2007. It includes contributions by four Editors of international journals in rehabilitation. Some of the topics discussed are of a general nature, but will provide useful guidance for the more junior scientific author. Some specific information about the four journals is also presented. Topics discussed include the reasons for publishing in peer review journals, important considerations in submitting a manuscript, the peer review process, the effect of electronic publishing, which leads to shorter publication times and the opportunity to preview papers, and the trend towards more open access to journals. The discussion concludes that the field of physical and rehabilitation medicine will continue to expand, with an audience with a broader range of scientific and clinical interests. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) may be increasingly used as a framework in reporting. New journals may be started, particularly in regions of the world other than Europe and the USA, despite the fact that journals currently published in these regions are distributed worldwide.

The reporting of blinding in physical medicine and rehabilitation randomized controlled trials: A systematic review

“…To the best of our knowledge, no previous systematic reviews have been conducted in order to assess the reporting of blinding in PM&R RCTs and its changes over time. Thus, the purpose of this review was to examine this parameter among 5 prominent journals in the field (22), and to correlate it with RCT characteristics and results. Specifically, we aimed to determine: a) how frequently blinding is reported in studies, and the terms authors use to describe it; b) the factors related with a higher reporting of blinding; c) the extent to which authors explain which key persons were kept blinded; d) whether blind studies follow the recommendations of CONSORT in terms of describing the characteristics of blinding; e) if reporting rates for blinding differ between CONSORT-endorsing and non-endorsing journals; and f) whether there have been any changes in these parameters over the past decade.…”

Publishing in physical and rehabilitation medicine: A European point of view

“…We thank Frontera et al (1) again for their contribution. We hope that other international PRM journals will follow their model; the willingness to engage in debate, thorough evaluation and disclosure of performance is an additional indicator of high quality for both Editors-in-Chief and journals.…”

“…Franco Franchignoni, MD 1 We thank Franco Franchignoni and co-authors for their interest in our recently published article. We also greatly appreciate their interest in our point of view regarding a very important issue; the publication of research that will enhance the field of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.…”

“…Competition among articles is a factor driving quality (3). The range 30-65% referred to in the paper is related neither to a specific period nor to a specific journal (1). We are interested to collect data about the percentage of immediate vs later rejections (for both solicited and unsolicited manuscripts) in the last years (in 1-year windows), and in the absence of geographical biases in the priority ratings (8).…”

“…An external validation of the Committee decisions came from a bibliometric survey showing that the 5 top journals selected rank from the 1 st (JRM, n = 43) to 5 th position (AJPRM, n = 10) in terms of recent publications by 10 members of the European Academy of PRM (coming from 9 different European countries), chosen randomly (total number of publications considered = 272). Frontera et al (1) also state that authors "should select the journal that best matches the nature and potential readership of their research" and "should con sider the mission statement of the journal, the author guidelines, the composition of the editorial board, and the journal's pub lishing history to establish that the scientific or clinical areas of interest of the journal reflect the desired target population". Again, we agree.…”