Theses on healthcare-associated infections and their publication conversion rates

Abstract

ion of theses on healthcare-associated Objective: his study aimed to examine the dist infections (HAls) in T & uuml;rkiye, determine the publication rates of these theses in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and identify strategies to increase publication rates. Materials and Methods: Theses on HAIs completed between 2000 and 2023 were screened in the Y & Ouml;KTEZ (National Thesis Center) database. For each thesis, the title, the author's spe-cialty, academic degree, and year of completion were recorded. The included theses were subsequently searched across national and international databases to determine their pub-lication status. For each identified publication, the article title, journal name, year of publi-cation, and indexing status were documented. Results: A total of 1077 theses were included in the study. Of these, 34.2% were conducted in Medical Microbiology and 26.1% in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology. Overall, 40.1% (n = 432) of the theses were converted into scientific publications. Among the pub-lished studies, 41.4% (n = 179) were indexed in Science Citation Index (SCI), Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E), or Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). No statistically signifi-cant difference in publication rates was observed between disciplines (p = 0.7) Conclusion: Although a substantial number of theses on HAls have been conducted in T & uuml;rkiye, the rate of conversion into academic publications remains lower than expected. Increasing awareness of this issue and developing solution-oriented strategies may improve scientific productivity and publication output in this field.