Abstract Details

Title Newsworthiness of Neurological Research

Topic General Neurology

Presentation(s) General Neurology Posters (7:00 AM-5:00 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 041

Objective To evaluate news coverage received by neurological research and factors associated with its newsworthiness.

Background Informing public of latest scientific breakthroughs is important to any research field. Popular news media remains the most impactful means of research dissemination. We, therefore, evaluated the factors that determine the newsworthiness of neurological research.

Design/Methods Original research articles from the year 2016 in the top 5 neurological journals, based on impact factor, were extracted. Individual research article was reviewed for the subspecialty, study design, funding source, continent and institute of origin. Dimensions, an online platform, was used to find the number of news and Twitter mentions and open access status. Articles receiving a news mention were considered ‘newsworthy’. Logistic regression models for “newsworthiness” were performed.

Results Of the 1050 research articles included, 551 (52.5%) were newsworthy, with a median of 2 [inter-quartile range (IQR) = 1 – 10] news mentions. Newsworthy articles were significantly more likely to have a higher number of tweets [Odds ratio (OR) = 1.04 (1.03 – 1.05), p <0.001] and open-access (OR = 1.63 (1.22 – 2.17), p = 0.02). Newsworthiness was not associated with study design, article type, funding status and continent or institute of origin. Publication in JAMA Neurology [OR = 2.86 (1.39 – 6.1), p = 0.005] and the Lancet Neurology [OR = 2.86 (1.39 – 6.1), p = 0.005] affected newsworthiness. Articles on cognitive neurology were 22 times [OR = 22.62 (11.48 – 47.95), p <0.001] more likely to be newsworthy.

Conclusions Close to half of the research articles published in the top neurology journals do not receive any news mention. Newsworthiness is associated with the popularity of research articles on social media and studies on Cognitive neurology seem to be of particularly high interest in news media. Future research to understand the impact of newsworthiness on clinical outcomes is required.

Authors/Disclosures
Isha Snehal, MBBS PRESENTER	Dr. Snehal has nothing to disclose.
Vineet Punia, MD (Cleveland Clinic)	Dr. Punia has nothing to disclose.

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