2016 Reader Research

JOSPT Reader Research

• Study conducted by JOSPT between August 31 and

September 9, 2016 of current JOSPT subscribers and

members of the Orthopaedic and/or Sports Physical Therapy

Sections of the American Physical Therapy Association

• 1,082 surveys (4.6% return) received over 10 days (including

999 practitioners and academicians, 68 students, and 15

retirees)

• Research covers demographic data, including purchasing

influence, products and services purchased, usefulness of

JOSPT and other publications, and the importance of

elements of JOSPT in print and online

JOSPT Research Highlights

Survey Participant Demographics• 31% of respondents manage or own their enterprises.

• 68% work in outpatient facilities or private practice.

• 77% are working practitioners; 14%, academicians; 6%, students; 1%, physicians, and

2%, retired.

• 83% hold master’s or doctoral degrees.

• 75% have worked in orthopaedics and/or sports for more than 4 years and 23%

are new to these fields (1 to 3 years or not yet practicing); 2% were retired.

• 48% are responsible for staff development.

• 95% use a smart phone or personal digital assistant, and 74% own a tablet.

Purchasing Influence• 61% of respondents influence purchasing decisions [making recommendations for

purchases, specifying make and model, and serving as final authority for buys].

• The top 14 product categories purchased by respondents are: therapeutic

exercise/intervention, manual therapy equipment, general equipment and supplies,

education, exam/testing tables and tools, patient education materials, cold therapy,

electrotherapeutic modalities, heat therapy, ultrasound, traction, assistive devices, dry

needling equipment, and orthoses/shoes/splints/supports-general.

• Respondents routinely act on advertisements seen in JOSPT, with 70% visiting the

company’s website, 44% recommending the purchase of a product, 38% discussing an

advertisement, 34% contacting an advertiser, and 33% buying the advertised product.

JOSPT Research Highlights (continued)

JOSPT’s Usefulness to Readers in Their Jobs• On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is “not useful at all” and 5 is “extremely useful,”

respondents rated the JOSPT 4.32—first among 17 publications assessed.

• 55% of respondents spend 30 or more minutes with every issue of JOSPT.

• 55% keep issues of JOSPT for 1 or more years.

• 55% share their print issues with others.

JOSPT Print and Website Format and Design• Respondents rated the print JOSPT format a 3.94, where 1 is “ineffective” and 5 is

“extremely effective.”

• Survey participants rated JOSPT’s website a 3.56, where 1 is “ineffective” and 5 is

“extremely effective.”

• 89% visit www.jospt.org—61% on a daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.

Usefulness of JOSPT Print and Online Formats• When asked which format they prefer, 32% of survey participants said a combination

of print and online is most useful, while 35% preferred online in some form. Thirty-three

percent prefer print.

Readers Hold a Variety of Positions

43%

18%

13%

14%

6%

1%2%

3% Staff provider

Manager/director/supervisor

Sole owner/private practice

Professor

Student

Physician

Retired

Other

31% of survey participants

manage or own the enterprise.

(n=1,082)

Readers Work in Many Environments

45%

23%

18%

3%

2%2%

1%

6%

Outpatient Facility

Private Practice

Academic Institution

Acute Care Hospital

Military

Rehabilitation Hospital

School System

Other Practice Areas*

68% of survey participants work

in an outpatient facility or in

private practice. (n=1,082)

*NOTE: Other Practice Areas include (but are not limited

to) Subacute Rehab Hospital, Skilled Facilities, Patient

Home Care, Health and Wellness Facilities, Research

Centers, and Industry.

Readers Value Higher Education

1%

16%

17%

57%

9%

Associate

Baccalaureate

Master's

Clinical Doctorate inPhysical Therapy

Rsearch Doctorate

83% of survey participants hold

master’s or doctoral degrees.

(n=1,082)

Readers are Experienced Therapists

75% of respondents have been

practicing in orthopaedics and

sports for 4 or more years.

(n=1,082)6%

17%

20%

25%

30%

2%

Not yet practicing

1-3 years

4-10 years

11-20 years

21-30+ years

Not applicable

Readers Responsible for Staff

Development/Continuing Education

48% of survey respondents are

responsible for development/

continuing education of others.

(n=1,082)

48%

52%

Responsible

Not Responsible

Reader Use of Smartphones/PDAs

95% of JOSPT’s readers use

a smartphone or a personal

digital assistant. (n=1,082)

95%

5%

Yes No

Reader Use of Tablets

74% of JOSPT’s audience

own a tablet. (n=1,082)

74%

26%

Yes No

61% of survey participants make

or influence purchasing decisions

for physical therapy products and

services. (n=1,082)

Readers Make Purchasing Decisions

61%

39%

Influence

Do Not Influence

Readers Have Broad Purchasing Authority

64% of respondents involved in

purchasing either specify

products or services for their

organization or are the final

authority on purchasing.

(n=663)22%

15%

21%

42%

Final authority forpurchases

Specify products andservices

Influence decisions

Recommendpurchases

Top 14 Products Readers Purchase (n=640)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Orthoses-general

Dry needling equipment

Assistive devices

Traction

Ultrasound

Heat therapy

Electrotherapeutic modalities

Cold therapy

Patient education materials

Exam/testing tables & tools

Education

General equipment & supplies

Manual therapy equipment

Therapeutic exercise/intervention

13 Additional Products Readers Buy (n=640)

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Protheses

Lifts/transfer devices

Wound care

Orthoses-neck & trunk

Chairs/wheelchairs

Orthoses-upper extremity

Hydrotherapy

Business management/services

Cushions/pads/protectors

Injury management

Orthoses-lower extremity

Ambulation/mobility devices

Outcomes/data collection

Reader Response to Advertisements

Of survey participants who make or influence purchasing

decisions, 70% visited the advertiser’s website based on an ad

in JOSPT, and 44% recommended the purchase of an

advertised service or product. (n=458)

33%

34%

38%

44%

70%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Purchased an advertised service/product

Contacted an advertiser for more information

Discussed an advertisement seen in JOSPTwith others in your organization

Recommended the purchase of anadvertised service/product

Visited an advertiser's website

Readers Spend Time With JOSPT Monthly

55% of survey participants

spend more than 30 minutes

with their copy of JOSPT

every month. (n=1,082)

14%

18%

23%

30%

15% More than 1 hour

45-60 minutes

30-45 minutes

15-30 minutes

0-15 minutes

55% of survey participants

keep their paper journals for

a year or more. (n=1,082)

Print Readers Keep Copies of JOSPT

44%

11%

13%

12%

10%

10% More than 1 year

12 months

6 months

3 months

1 month or less

Not applicable;online only

Print Readers Share Copies of JOSPT

55% of survey respondents

share their print copies with

others. (n=1,082)

55%35%

10%

Share

Do Not Share

Not applicable;online only

Readers Rank JOSPT First in Usefulness

Among 17 Leading JournalsOn a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely) useful, survey

participants ranked JOSPT 4.32 in usefulness. (n=1,082)

4.32

3.73 3.65 3.63 3.62 3.62 3.48 3.39 3.38 3.35 3.30 3.25 3.24 3.243.02 2.99

2.80

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

5.00

Effectiveness of JOSPT DesignWhen asked to rate JOSPT’s design effectiveness, respondents

ranked the print format 3.94 and the website 3.56, where 1 is not

at all effective and 5 is extremely effective. (n=1,082)

3.94

3.56

3.30

3.40

3.50

3.60

3.70

3.80

3.90

4.00

Print Website

Readers Visit JOSPT Online Regularly

89% of survey participants visit

JOSPT.org; 61% on a daily,

weekly, monthly, or quarterly

basis. (n=1,082)

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

Quarterly

Occasionally

Never

JOSPT’s Most Useful FormatWhen asked which format they prefer,

32% of survey participants said a

combination of print and online is most

useful, while 35% preferred online in

some form. (n=1,082)

33%

22%

2%

11%

32%

Print

Online-Desktop

Online-Mobile

Both Online-Desktopand Mobile

Both Print and Online(Desktop and/or Mobile)

Where JOSPT Is ReadWhen asked where they read most

JOSPT articles, 66% of survey

participants said they read the print

JOSPT, while 34% read articles

online—on desktops, laptops, or

mobile devices. (n=1,082)

66%

28%

6%

Print

Online-Desktop/Laptop

Mobile Device

How Readers Learn About JOSPT Articles

Readers learn about new material published on www.jospt.org chiefly from emailed

tables of contents of current issue and ahead-of-print articles. However, the print

journal remains an important prompt to read new articles. (n=1,082)

2%

4%

5%

8%

59%

61%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Facebook

Other

Twitter

Colleague

Print Journal

Emailed TOC

Readers Following JOSPT on Facebook

and Twitter 21% of JOSPT’s audience

regularly follows JOSPT on

Facebook and/or Twitter,

compared to 4% in 2012.

(n=1,082)8%

7%

6%

79%

Facebook

Twitter

Both

Neither

Readers’ Last Words on JOSPT

• “This is the most useful of all the journals I receive.”

• “I really appreciate the improvement in quality of the research articles over

the years.”

• “Very happy with this journal; it is one of 3 journals I use regularly.”

• “One of the most read journals on my desk — thank you!”

• “JOSPT is wonderful — I have to admit I read it cover to cover more often

than PTJ.”

• “Love the online content. Completing this survey on a tablet right now!”

• “Very useful in clinical practice!”

• “JOSPT is a great journal with exciting changes and global emphasis.”

• “I think the Journal and its website are getting better and better.”

• “As a staff educator, I encourage my students and colleagues to keep up with

JOSPT.”

• “I share my print issue regularly. My goal is to keep my entire staff current on

issues.”

• “JOSPT is my #1 PT journal.”