A decade of publishing in Pharmacy Education: A content analysis

Abstract

Background: The journal Pharmacy Education has published articles in the education field of pharmacy for over a decade. This period has seen changes in pharmacy and educational practice, as well as the journal publishers and editorial team.

Aims: The aim of the current article was to review the publishing content of the journal to inform future direction.

Method: Articles were extracted from a 12 year period (2000 – 2011) from the journal’s inception. Data from the downloaded articles were extracted and analysed for content. Descriptive analyses were performed focusing particularly on the research reporting.

Results: Analysis revealed that the volume of publishing varied considerably over the 12 year period. Most principal authors were from ‘Western’ settings, particularly the United Kingdom; about 1/3 of research articles involved some level of collaboration. Most principal authors were based in the academic setting; very few articles appeared to have received funding.

Conclusion: A greater focus needs to be paid to the international audience. Improvements in quality of the journal may include a stabilisation of the numbers of annual publications and a greater proportion of experimental research. There is an emerging imperative for pharmacy educators in the practice setting to increase the dissemination and publication of educational development and research; all pharmacy educators are challenged with seeking funding to support their activities.