Bibliometric Analysis and Publication Status of Public Health Specialization Theses in Turkey

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine in which fields of public health specialists conduct medical specialty thesis and to examine the status of theses turned into articles in national and international journals. Materials and Methods: Databases of National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education was used for the study examining the bibliometric analysis and publication status of medical specialty theses conducted in Public Health Departments until the end of 2022. Results: Approximately 40% of the theses were centered around three main topics, namely occupational health, non-communicable diseases-disability-cancer, and child-adolescent health. More than 60% of theses were planned as cross-sectional study. 29.2% of the theses have been published, and this rate increases to 47.3% in studies receiving project support; 41.6% in studies conducted using laboratory findings; 36.1% in studies using examination findings data; and 33.3% in studies using radiological imaging data. Less than 30% of the published theses were published in SCI, SCI-E, Scopus group journals. Conclusion: While the rate of publication for public health theses has demonstrated an upward trend over the years, it remains relatively low. Solutions should be devised to foster the publication of specialty theses. Spreading thesis studies across the duration of education, as opposed to a condensed timeframe, and augmenting financial support from universities for scientific research can enhance studies in terms of data collection methods and outreach.