Awareness, attitudes, and perceptions of Croatian-based orthopedic and trauma surgeons toward scientific manuscripts, publishing internationally and medical writing. Results of an online questionnaire.

The objective of this survey was to identify the importance placed by Croatian-based surgeons on writing scientific manuscripts and publishing them internationally, as well as their awareness of and attitudes toward medical writing. A link to an online survey was sent to 327 Croatian-based orthopedic and trauma surgeons. The electronic questionnaire consisted of rating scales, multiple choice questions and free text reply boxes. A total of 61 surgeons based in Croatia replied to the survey, yielding a response rate of 19% (61/327). The survey results indicate that surgeons in Croatia are active in both research and the writing of manuscripts. There is also a high level of interest among them to publish internationally in English to further their careers. While 68% (38/56) of respondents initially claimed to know about medical writing, further questioning on the subject revealed a reduced level of familiarity with the concept. Only 19% (11/58) of respondents had ever engaged the services of a medical writer and they were generally satisfied with the work done across the three areas of language, editing and scientific knowledge. Medical writers are advised to increase awareness of their services among Croatian-based orthopedic and trauma surgeons who may well have a need for their expertise.