The annual conference of the Irish College of Ophthalmologists: examining over a decade of trends

BACKGROUND: The annual conference of the Irish College of Ophthalmologists (ICO) is a key calendar event for ophthalmology research in Ireland. AIMS: We investigated whether there were identifiable trends across various domains for the last twelve ICO meetings. Our objectives were to assess subspeciality and training centre representation, as well as the characteristics of the first author to include gender and stage of training. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of paper and poster presentations from the ICO annual conference yearbooks was conducted. The representation of subspecialties, affiliated institutions, and gender distribution were noted for both categories. For paper presentations, the author’s career stage, full-text publication rates, and impact factors were also determined. RESULTS: A total of 306 paper presentations and 306 poster presentations were analysed. The subspecialty of retina had the highest representation within both sections. The overall mean publication rate was 38% (range, 6–39%), with a mean journal impact factor of 2.02. No statistically significant differences in gender noted with regard to poster, paper, or publications (p < 0.9, p < 0.1, p < 0.7, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first review of all research contributions to the ICO conference. We found that there is a need to promote research in some underrepresented subspecialities and training centres. No significant gender bias was found. There is scope to improve the publication conversion rate; this would allow for greater dissemination of the research presented at the ICO meeting.