Disparities in scientific research activity between doctors and nurses working in the Peruvian health care system: Analysis of a nationally representative sample.

AimTo evaluate disparities in the frequency of scientific activity between medical doctors and nurses in Peru.MethodsWe carried out a secondary data analysis of the National Health Services Users' Satisfaction Survey (ENSUSALUD), 2016. This nationally representative survey evaluates doctors and nurses working in clinical settings. We defined scientific activity as i) having published an original article (journal indexed in Web of Science, Scopus or Medline); and ii) having authored an abstract in a national or international conference. We estimated crude and adjusted disparities prevalence ratios (aDPR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).ResultsWe included 2025 doctors and 2877 nurses in the analysis; 71% of doctors doctor were male, and 93% of nurses were female (pConclusionsThere are important disparities in scientific activity between doctors and nurses working in clinical settings in Peru. Disparities are more significant for article publication than for authoring in conference abstracts. We suggest public policies that promote research dissemination between health professionals, with emphasis on nurses.