A survey on utilization of Nahjul-Balagha in scientific output of medical sciences

Nahjul-Balagha, after Quran, is an important reference for humanity and a book of guidance that carries useful messages about health. The present study aimed at measuring the utilization rate of this book in the scientific output of medical sciences.
The current cross-sectional study has been conducted on a portion of medical science’s scientific outputs (medical and dental dissertations as well as journals and articles in the field of medical sciences) and a 16-year interval of conferences on environmental health. Data was collected with citation analysis technique and using a researchermade checklist. Descriptive and inferential statistical indicators were used for data analysis. In this study, all relevant ethical issues were considered.
A survey on 20,776 references from 511 dissertations has shown that Nahjul-Balagha was not used in any of them. In addition, findings of 19,069 references used in 876 published scientific articles in Persian journal of Babol University of Medical Sciences have showed that, the utilization rate of Nahjul-Balagha was 2 times over a 22-year interval. The abstract of only 1 article had been attached to Nahjul-Balagha issue in a 16-year interval of survey on 2928 articles presented in environmental health conferences.
Though the important role of religious recommendations and especially useful written advice in Nahjul-Balagha on health, the utilization rate of this valuable book among articles of medical sciences, is rare.