Quality of methodological design and level of research articles published by occupational therapists in Iranian scientific journals

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to investigate the quality of methodological design, level of evidence, and practice area of research articles published by Iranian occupational therapists in Iranian non-occupational therapy scientific journals. All research articles in 10 Iranian scientific journals between 2004 and 2010 were reviewed by two independent occupational therapists. During this period Iranian occupational therapists published 52 articles in these journals. Holm’s (2000) classification system was employed to identify the level of evidence for each article. While the randomized controlled trials studies (level II) were the highest number of the published research articles (29%; n=15), there were no systematic reviews published in the included journals. Pediatric and school based articles were the most commonly researched practice area (45%; n=23). The least researched topic was older people (6%; n=3) the levels of methodological research represented in the articles are similar to studies published elsewhere. However, the number of publications is less than American’xs studies, especially in the area of mental health and older people.