Factors Associated with the Scientific Publication of University Theses in Health Sciences

Introduction: Undergraduate theses represent a significant contribution to knowledge but they are frequently not published due to different reasons, which limit their dissemination and academic reach. Objective: To identify the factors associated with higher publication rates of theses. Methods: A systematic narrative review of articles in the Scopus, MEDLINE, and SciELO databases was carried out. The sources were searched for articles published over the last ten years, describing the country of publication, study program, type of thesis evaluated, methods used, bibliometric indicators, main results and conclusions. Results: Fifteen sources were found that met the selection criteria; six studies were conducted in Turkey, four in the United States. Some studies agreed that thesis format/length is associated with higher output and shorter time to publication. The characteristics of the thesis director were related to higher thesis production. Thus, those theses that were supervised by more experienced and more productive directors were more likely to be published in indexed journals. Conclusion: The factors associated with thesis publication are varied and heterogeneous. These include the format and length of the thesis, the characteristics and experience of the thesis director, and the thematic and methodological design of some of them. Publications resulting from theses are means by which the results of research can be disseminated.