Scientific abstracts at the Society for Adolescent Medicine meetings: a 3-decade comparison.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to review abstracts accepted for presentation at the annual national meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM) over the past 3 decades for subject content and research design.


METHODS
Retrospective review was conducted of research abstracts for 3 years, selected at random, for the 1990s and then matched at 10-year intervals for the previous 2 decades. The major categories for subject content were: medical, psychosocial, health services, and miscellaneous; for research design categories were: retrospective, observational, experimental, and miscellaneous. Subsequent publication was also assessed.


RESULTS
The most notable change over the 3 decades in subject content was a shift from medical topics (58% to 19%) to psychosocial topics [20% to 52% (p < .001)] of abstracts, the latter largely accounted for by increases in topics pertaining to high-risk behaviors. There was a substantial decrease in abstracts concerning medical aspects of chronic illness (p < .001), well-adolescent care, growth and development, and psychosocial aspects of chronic illness (p < .02). Regarding research design, the proportion of retrospective studies decreased over the 3 decades (p < .02); the most prevalent design was observational, with an increase in studies using established databases (p < .02). Less than 15% represented an experimental design. Studies using qualitative analysis appeared for the first time in the 1990s. The percentage of presentations which eventuated in published reports increased from 35% to 63% over the 3 decades (p < .02).


CONCLUSIONS
A significant shift occurred in subject content of scientific abstracts from a medical to a psychosocial emphasis. The proportion of retrospective designs decreased, and qualitative analyses emerged. The likelihood of later publication of the studies increased.
Cromer
B A
BA
Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, USA.
Heald
F
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000295:Adolescent Medicine / Q000639:trends*; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D006801:Humans; D011643:Publishing / Q000639:trends; D012107:Research Design / Q000639:trends