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Students' Corner
Attitudes and Practices of Postgraduate Medical Trainees towards Research - a
Snapshot from Faisalabad
F. Aslam, M. A. Qayuum*, H. Mahmud, R. Qasim, I. U. Haque**
4th Year Medical Students, The Aga Khan University Medical College, Karachi, Punjab Medical College* and Department of Medicine**, Punjab Medical
College, Faisalabad.
Abstract
Objective: To assess the attitudes and practices of postgraduate medical trainees towards research.
Methods: It was a self-administered questionnaire based cross-sectional survey conducted on 55 conveniently
selected trainees in Allied Hospital, Faisalabad.
Results: Only 11 trainees read journals monthly, seven had written an article for a journal, 51 regarded reading
literature important, 39 intended to engage in future research and 37 said they received inappropriate research
training. The major reasons cited for poor research activity in Pakistan were poor research training and aware-
ness.
Conclusion: Though the attitudes towards research were positive, they were deficient practically in terms of
reading and writing literature. There is an immediate need to improve research training in our educational insti-
tutes to facilitate the development of the local literature both in terms of research utilization and production
(JPMA 54:534;2004).
Introduction
The rapidly evolving medical science of today neces-
sitates that physicians keep abreast with the latest develop-
ments. This requires the understanding and use of scientific
principles and methods. Research activity of postgraduate
medical trainees is important as it promises better clinical care,
critical reasoning, lifelong learning and future research activi-
ty.
1
With rising health costs, local literature is important for
facilitating evidence based and cost-effective decisions and
thereby improving clinical practice.
The utilization and production of research along with
human and institutional development are two important
components of health research.
2
Trainees constitute an inte-
gral part of both these components. The poor state of health
research in Pakistan is well established.
2,3
One reason being
the insufficient teaching of scientific research methodology
during undergraduate and postgraduate medical train-
ing.
4
The study assesses the attitudes and practices of
trainees towards research utilization
and production in a tertiary care health facility in Pakistan.
Methods
This cross-sectional survey was conducted in April
2004, on the post-graduate trainees of Allied Hospital in
Faisalabad which is an 1150 bed teaching hospital attached
to the Punjab Medical College. About 225 trainees who had
done their MBBS and were undergoing higher medical
training, in medicine and allied disciplines or surgery and
allied disciplines, at the hospital constituted the total popu-
lation. Of these, conveniently selected 55 trainees answered
a voluntary, confidential and self-administered question-
naire. It contained demographic data and multiple-choice
questions assessing attitudes and practices towards research.
The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (Version
10.0.1, copyright SPSS; 1989-99) was used for data colla-
tion and analysis.
Results
Of the 60 trainees approached, 55 consented to par-
ticipate giving a response rate of 92%. The respondents
included 34 males and 21 females. The mean age was 26.15
years (SD± 2.43). Of all, 13 were interns, 17 belonged to
first, 12 to second, 6 to third, 4 to fourth and 3 to the fifth
year of training respectively. There were 36 respondents
from medical and 19 from surgical disciplines.
There were 7 respondents who had never read a
medical journal. Monthly journal reading was done by 11
trainees. Journals were read at least once in six months by
21 and at least once in a year by 16 respondents respective-
ly.
Of all, 7 trainees had written an article for a journal
while 9 had presented a paper at a scientific conference
(Table). Approximately two-third (37) respondents believed
that they receive inappropriate research training. Regarding
the importance of reading current literature, 36 opined that
it is very important, 15 rated it as important, while only 4
regarded it as less important. Almost all (54) participants
believed that medical literature can influence the way med-
icine is practiced. There were 39 respondents who intended
to do research in the future. A large majority (46) intended
to use health sciences research, through reading journals,
when they start their own practice.
When asked to name the single most important rea-
son for poor research activity in Pakistan (Figure), 17
ascribed it to poor research training during medical and
postgraduate education while 16 attributed it to poor
research awareness. Other notable factors were high work-
load and poor financial condition.
Discussion
The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes
and practices of post-graduate trainees towards health sci-
ences research and to illuminate factors that may have an
impact on their behaviour in this regard.
Although a large majority rated highly the impor-
tance of reading current literature, only a few actually read
journals. This discrepancy between attitude and practice is a
cause of concern and merits further investigation. Similarly,
only a few were actively involved in making scientific con-
tributions to the literature. These observations reflect the
lack of utilization and production of research by medical
trainees.
The importance of local health research is invaluable
as it is tailored to local needs and problems and serves to
generate indigenous solutions. It has been shown that local
Table. Respondents' attitudes and practices towards research (n=55).
Written an Presented Received Medical Plan to do Will use
article for paper at a adequate literature research journals
a journal conference research affects in future during
education practice practice
Yes 7 (12.7) 9 (16.4) 18 (32.7) 54 (98.2) 39 (70.9) 46 (83.6)
No 48 (87.3) 46 (83.6) 37 (67.3) 1 (1.8) 16 (29.1) 9 (16.4)
Figure. Reasons cited for poor research activity (n=55).
journals are most likely to influence clinical practice
in the developing countries.
5
In order to strengthen the local
literature, it must not only be properly utilized, but proper-
ly contributed to as well. It is therefore important to pro-
mote critical literature reading and analyzing skills.
The findings showed that most of the participants
had positive attitudes towards health sciences research.
These findings are comparable to those in India.
6
While
majority plan to engage in future research, one must look at
this intention with a degree of caution. This is primarily due
to the following reasons: firstly, if they do engage in
research it is impractical to expect the generation of high
quality, locally relevant studies and secondly, research pub-
lications during training are a strong predictor of future
research activities
7
, which is not the case in our study. The
former inference is made because of lack of proper research
training imparted to our trainees
4
, a fact also acknowledged
by the respondents of this study.
The major reasons cited for poor research activity in
Pakistan were poor research training and poor research
awareness. These are different from the western settings
where lack of time and lack of interest were more important
obstacles to research as compared to poor training
8
,
although improper training and high workload were also
cited.
9
The consensus on the importance of research among
trainees both in Pakistan and the west, however, is univer-
sal.
The limitations of the study are that it was conduct-
ed at one institution involving a limited number of trainees.
Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized. In spite of the
limitations, this study aims to stimulate more research on
this critical issue. We believe that there is an urgent need to
conduct more detailed studies across the health education
institutes of the country. Other impediments to trainees'
research like high workload, poor funding and poor access
to journals should be investigated further.
This lack of research exposure and training under-
scores the need to review both undergraduate and postgrad-
uate curricula so that some specific educational intervention
is incorporated. Previous studies demonstrate that with
some extra efforts from teachers; learning opportunities can
be created on a systematic basis without demanding addi-
tional resources.
6
There is a need to investigate the problem
further to generate interventions which may very well serve
to increase research activity in the country, both in terms of
quality and quantity.
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