Analysis of poster and publication trends in the American Music Therapy Association

The purposes of this study were to: (a) analyze trends in poster session presentations at national music therapy conferences; (b) identify factors related to the number of posters presented; and (c) explore the rate at which results from poster presentations are published both in and outside of AMTA journals. Results indicated that most research posters at the AMTA national conference were presented by authors in the Southeastern, Great Lakes, and Midwestern regions. Furthermore, the number of graduate schools in the region was the largest predictor of number of posters presented, accounting for approximately 14% of the unique variance. Finally, a systematic literature search indicated that the majority of posters were not published. In conclusion, the authors provide recommendations concerning utilizing research poster sessions as a means to support the association's research initiative, encourage collaboration between clinicians and researchers, and increase the profession's body of evidenced-based practices.