Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to research the history of original articles published in the journal of the Hiroshima Physical Therapists Association. Methods: 24 issues of the journal published between 1992 and 2015 were divided into three periods. For each period, changes in the following categories were analyzed: the configuration and number of original articles; the characteristics of articles in the field of physical therapy; the design of studies; and the size of samples. Results: The number of original articles did not change significantly. The configuration of original articles, that is, the number of characters used in titles gradually increased, and the number of references increased significantly during the second and third periods. In the field of physical therapy, most of the articles (44%) were related to neurology during the first period. During the second and third periods, other fields increased and the proportion of neurology articles decreased (by 21% in both periods). In relation to study design, cross-sectional studies increased during the second and third periods. Sample sizes were larger during the second and third periods. Conclusion: There seemed to be a relationship between the historical changes that influenced original articles and the education offered to physical therapists and physical therapy students before and after graduation.
