Effect of Research Grant Funding on Academic Productivity in Plastic Surgery

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Plastic Surgery Foundation (PSF) funds investigators to augment their ability to produce research. The h-index is a measure that assesses the quantity and significance of an individual’s academic contributions. The objective of this study was to determine whether receiving funding through a PSF grant results in increased research productivity. METHODS: The PSF listing of funding appropriations was utilized to determine which surgeons have received grants between 2003-2013. The Scopus database was queried to determine each surgeon’s current h-index and their h-index at the time of grant funding. Analysis was performed to determine whether research productivity increased after grant funding. RESULTS: Sixty-seven out of 592 US academic plastic surgeons in our study received PSF grants from 2003-2013. The mean current h-index for all plastic surgeons that received a PSF grant was 12.91 and 8.46 for those who did not (p < 0.05). At the time of PSF grant award, the mean h-index for single-grant awardees was 6.43, which increased after funding to a current mean of 10.70 (p < 0.05). Of surgeons receiving grants, 77.6% came from a division/department with multiple grant recipients. On multivariate regression, receiving PSF grant funding correlated with increased academic productivity as measured by the h-index (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Plastic surgeons receiving a PSF grant have higher academic productivity. Receiving a PSF grant appears to correlate with increased research productivity over time. Those surgeons who receive PSF grant funding tend to come from divisions/departments with multiple grant recipients and with higher departmental academic productivity.