Journal reading habits of internists

We assessed the reading habits of internists with and without epidemiologic al training because such information may help guide medical journals as the y make changes in how articles are edited and formatted. In a 1998 national self-administered mailed survey of 143 internists with fellowship training in epidemiology and study design and a random sample of 121 internists fro m the American Medical Association physician master file. we asked about th e number of hours spent reading medical journals per week and the percentag e of articles for which only the abstract is read. Respondents also were as ked which of nine medical journals they subscribe to and read regularly. Of the 399 eligible participants, 264 returned surveys (response rate 66%). R espondents reported spending 4.4 hours per week reading medical journal art icles and reported reading only the abstract for 63% of the articles: these findings were similar for internists with and without epidemiology trainin g. Respondents admitted to a reliance on journal editors to provide rigorou s and useful information, given the limited time available for critical rea ding. We conclude that internists, regardless of training in epidemiology, rely heavily on abstracts and prescreening of articles by editors.