1. An analysis of 1966-2004 MEDLINE papers: Khalid Al Aboud, M.D Medical Director and Consultant Dermatologist King Faisal Hospital,Makkah, Saudi Arabia. E-mail amoa65@hotmail.com Dermatology publication in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries(GCC) Supercourse

2. To investigate the publication in dermatology cited in the MEDLINE from the 6 countries of the GCC countries from 1966-2004 Objective

3. 4. The citations obtained were collected and examined for the year of publication, the number of authors and the name of the journal Method 1. MEDLINE (available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) was searched on 19 Jan 2005 2. Inserting each of 6 countries in the search box and adding to it “and dermatology” 3. Limiting the search to “affiliation”

4. 5. 15 of 165 papers were by single author Results 1. A total of 165 PubMed citations affiliated to dermatology in GCC countries out of more than 13000 biomedical 2. It started in 1988 (Sieif Bin Gubash Hospital, UAE) 3. The papers were published in 27 local and international journals 4. All the publications were in English language citations.

5. Dermatology publication in GCC Countries Number of Publication

6. Total =165 79 35 28 16 6 1 Dermatology publication in GCC Countries

7. Graduates of Arab Board Training Program in GCC countries starting from 1998

8. 4. Other specialties were involved and the affiliation of the 1st author in a multi-authored article was from departments other than dermatology. Medline search using as entries the names of institutions of each GCC countries revealed other citations. These citations did not appear by our search method for some reasons 1. The address of the institute was not mentioned in the paper 2. Department or the section was not specified. 3. The word ‘’dermatology’’ was not in the title, though the institute is practicing dermatology.e.g papers from Bin Sina Hospital (a leprosy hospital in Jeddah) and National Leishmaniasis Research Project (KACST)

9. Suggestions to improve the condition of publication in our area

10. Gulf countries with a good economy should invest more on research, O.5% of GNP (Gross Net Production) should be enhanced to 2% The United Nation' Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommends that countries dedicate at least 2% of their gross domestic product to research and development

11. Major steps need to be taken to improve the quality of research in universities for new faculty members, simplifying research application processes, establishing efficient and adequate infrastructures, and providing a protected research time. Al Gindan YM, ET al.Saudi Med J 2004; 25: S 74-75

12. 1. Medical research and writing need advanced Resources 2. It is limited to Universities and research centers Clarification of the present misconceptions

13. Publication are not only journals. Books and Atlases are also important.

14. The skill of writing should be given not only in the training programs but also in medical students period

15. Improving the training curriculum by adding sessions on how to use effectively the computer and the internet in the learning process. Teaching the research methodology in the training programs and maintaining and improving the journal club session

16. The importance of Journal Clubs

17. Supporting and improving the local journals 1994 1989

18. 1. Good offices 2. Good secretarial services 3. Good library (Internet and subscription to standard medical databases) 4. Good photography department 5. Establishing research board in each hospital to review the annual research output and to solve any obstacles facing its progress 6. Seminars and workshops on helping doctors write well should be organized Improving the local facilities in the hospitals for researches

19. There should be a mechanism by which the recommendations of the studies are transferred into actual health care plan. The publications and research work will be worth the efforts only if it practically applied.

20. 1. King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh 2. Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Science, Kuwait 3. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, Dubai Researchers in the Gulf need to utilize the facilities provided by important scientific establishments like

22. Medical researches are important And there should be ways to asses Its status at all the levels Conclusion