Scientometric profile of physiotherapists Brazilian scientists

Abstract Introduction: Knowledge of Brazilian scientists profile is important to understand the factors that influence the behavior of those interested in developing science. Objective: To outline the profile of Brazilian physiotherapist researchers, permanent, or collaborator professors of PhD programs in physiotherapy. Methods: Study of documentary analysis with scientometric techniques on physiotherapist data in Brazilian doctors associated professors in PhD programs. To identify the professors, the Sucupira and Lattes Platforms were used, and the research areas were categorized according to COFFITO. Data on the research area, the number of orientations, publications and impact factor average (JCR) were analyzed by 1-way ANOVA test (p < 0.05), and a collaboration network was built using Gephi 0.9.1 software. Results: Nine institutions of higher education in Brazil have a PhD in physiotherapy. A total of 119 professors are associated with UFMG (20.2%), UFSCAR (17.6%), UFRN (13.4%), and UNINOVE (10.9%). The median number of doctors graduated by the professors was 1.0 (0.0 - 6.0) and in publications in the period was 4.6 (2.4 - 8.4). The main study designs were observational 71 (59.7%), and the main research area was neurofunctional 25 (21.0%). The collaboration between UFSCAR and UFMG professors is strengthened. Conclusion: There are few specific doctoral programs for physiotherapists in Brazil. The majority of them are concentrated in the southeast region, and the professor staff have very heterogeneous characteristics related to the duration of the programs, the nature of the institution, or the affiliation of the professor.