Abstract:
ObjectiveTo investigate academic publications of students of the full-time master of public health (professional degree, MPH) program and explore their research capacity.
MethodsA total of 160 students of the full-time MPH program admitted from 2010 through 2014 were included in the study. Their academic publications were retrieved for analysis.
ResultsThe average number of academic publications was 1.35. Moreover, 10.2% of the students had academic publications in Chinese journals, and 12.5% had publications in SCI-indexed English journals. Type of disciplines, province they were from, and economic status of their family were determined to be significantly associated with academic publications in SCI-indexed journals.
ConclusionStudents of the full-time MPH program have research capacity; however, they have achieved relatively few academic publications of high quality. Establishment of a teaching and training program is warranted in both practice and research for students in full-time MPH programs in universities.