The quality of medical and public health research from Palestinian institutions: a survey-based study

Abstract

Background There has been an increase in the quantity of health research from the occupied Palestinian territory in the past decade but no assessment of the quality. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of reports of Palestinian health research and factors associated with it. Methods We searched MEDLINE and Scopus for reports of original research relevant to human health or health care authored by researchers affiliated with Palestinian institutions and published between Jan 1, 2000, and Aug 30, 2015. We used international guidelines to assess report quality, classifying as adequate those with at least 50% of items completely addressed. Findings Of 2383 reports identified, 497 met our inclusion criteria. 264 (55%) reports were published after 2010, 354 (71%) first authors were affiliated with Palestinian institutions, and 261 (53%) reports had co-authors from outside the occupied Palestinian territory. 342 …