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Attitudes and Perceptions Towards Research Among Final Year Medical Students in a Private Medical College of Coastal Karnataka: A Cross-Sectional Study
Corresponding Author: Sanjay Kini, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore - 575018, E-mail: sanjaykini2010@gmail.com
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Received: ,
Accepted: ,
This article was originally published by Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd. and was migrated to Scientific Scholar after the change of Publisher.
Abstract
Introduction
Research experience gained by medical students during their under graduate tenure plays a significant role in their future endeavours in the field of medical research. The present study was a cross-sectional study conducted to know the attitudes and perceptions towards research among final year medical students in a private medical college.
Methods
A total of 220 students participated in the study.
Results
The majority of the students agreed that research is important in the medical field (88.6%, 195/220). The majority also believed that research methodology to be part of medical curriculum (72.7%, 160/220). 31.8% (70/220) felt that Research methodology will be helpful to enter competitive exams (USMLE, PLAB). The barriers for conducting research as believed by students were: Lack of interest (32.7%, 72/220), Lack of time (31.4%, 135/220), Inadequate knowledge about research methodology (51.4%, 113/230), Lack of guidance by faculties (27.7%, 61/220), Lack of research curriculum (34.1%, 75/230) Inadequate facilities for research (35.5%, 78/220), Inadequate financial support (30.9%, 68/220) and others 2.9% (6/220). Of the participating students, 23.2% (51/220) participated in research during medical school, while 76.8% (179/220) did not.
Conclusion
Medical colleges should emphasize more on research among the undergraduate students. There is a need to reform the medical curriculum with more weightage towards research methodology.
Keywords
Attitudes
research
coastal Karnataka
Introduction
The rapid expansion and progress in biomedical research is expected to transform medical care so Health research training has been recognized as an important component of medical education1. Guiding basic science research into clinically relevant directions and designing and evaluating newtherapies based on basic scientific discoveries is dependent on contribution of physician-investigators in translating progress in basic science into clinical practice by defining physiological and pathological implications at the molecular level2–4.
Literature says that postgraduate research initiativesand future career achievements in academic medicine are closely associated with research experience gained during medical school5–7. To attain a sustainable improvement in health research, the development of research capacity is imperative at the individual and institutional levels8. Initiatives are being taken to motivate medical students to undertake careers in research to fill the void of physician-scientists in developing countries9.
Various strategies are being employed for this purpose, which include mandatory and elective research assignments, student sections in indexed journals, organization of student scientific conferences, moulding of medical curriculum to integrate capacity building for research and holding of workshops on different aspects of conducting research10. Postulated explanations for the decline in the number of physician-scientists in the medical practice 11include less financial incentive, family, practice philosophy and inadequate exposure to research before career paths are determined12,13.
It appears crucial to experience research during medical school given the demands and competing interests offormulating an undergraduate medical curriculum and the attitudes of other learners during medical training14. The objective of our study was to explore perceptions, attitudes and practices toward research among senior medical students.
Methodology
We conducted a cross-sectional study among third and fourth year MBBS students at KS Hegde medical college, Mangalore during august 2014, to find out their perceptions, attitudes and practices towards research.
Data collection
A pre-tested semi structured questionnaire was administered to all the available students of third and fourth year MBBS, after obtaining their informed consent. To estimate the time required to complete the questionnaire and determine the comprehension of the questions by the participants, the study was pilot tested before distribution so that it could be refined accordingly. The questionnaire was then modified based on the lacunae found in the pilot study. The final self-administered pretested, semi structured questionnaire consisted of 18 questions, which required approximately 10 min to answer.
Questionnaire
A subject information sheet was attached to each questionnaire with a short description of the aim of the study and instructions on how to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire was subdivided into 4 categories after the initial socio-demographic information of the participants. The first part included the attitude of medical students towards the importance of research and its impact on their career. The second part highlighted their perceptionstowards research and third part focussed about the important obstacles in conducting research. The last section contained questions about practicing research and their experiences in this aspect.
Statistical analysis
Version 16 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used for statistical analysis. Data was expressed as frequencies and percentages.
Ethical clearance
Ethical clearance for the study was obtained from Institutional ethical committee of KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte University
Results
A total of 220 students participated in the study. The age group of the students ranged from 20 to 27 years. Demographic variables of the study participants is shown in Table 1
| Subgroup | Frequency | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | 107 | 48.6 |
| Female | 113 | 51.4 | |
| Class | 3rd year | 122 | 55.5 |
| 4th year | 98 | 44.5 | |
| Age | 20–23 | 200 | 90.9 |
| 24–27 | 20 | 9.1 |
The individuals sampled included 107 males (48.6%). Forty four percent were fourth year students. Regarding interest in residency programs, 59.1% (130/220) were interested in a medical specialty residency, 31.8 (70/220) were interested in a surgical specialty residency, and the rest were either undecided or interested in a Para-clinical residency program. Table 2 depicts the attitudes and perceptions towards research among final year medical students
| Subgroup | Frequency | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residency likely to pursue in future | Medical | 130 | 59.1 |
| Surgical | 70 | 31.8 | |
| Para clinical | 2 | 0.9 | |
| Not decided | 18 | 8.2 | |
| Research plays important role in medical field | Agree | 195 | 88.6 |
| Disagree | 4 | 1.8 | |
| Neutral | 21 | 9.5 | |
| Research methodology be part of medical curriculum | Agree | 160 | 72.7 |
| Disagree | 22 | 10.0 | |
| Neutral | 38 | 17.3 | |
| Research to be mandate for all students | Agree | 79 | 35.9 |
| Disagree | 48 | 21.8 | |
| Neutral | 93 | 42.3 | |
| Physician should be well acquainted Research knowledge | Agree | 146 | 66.4 |
| Disagree | 15 | 6.8 | |
| Neutral | 59 | 26.8 | |
| Interested in research | Yes | 144 | 65.5 |
| No | 76 | 34.5 |
The majority of the students agreed that research is important in the medical field (88.6%, 195/220). The majority also believed that research methodology to be part of medical curriculum (72.7%, 160/220). Few students (35.9%, 79/220) believed that conducting research should be mandatory for all medical students. 31.8% (70/220) felt that Research methodology will be helpful to enter competitive exams (USMLE, PLAB). The reasons for conducting research is depicted in the table 3
| Reason for conducting research | Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Interested in building a career in research | 53 | 24.1 |
| Would be helpful for academics | 81 | 36.8 |
| Helpful to enter competitive exams (USMLE, PLAB) | 70 | 31.8 |
| To attain research publications | 40 | 18.2 |
| Other reasons | 9 | 4.3 |
The barriers for conducting research as believed by students were: Lack of interest (32.7%, 72/220), Lack of time (31.4%, 135/220), Inadequate knowledge about research methodology (51.4%, 113/230), Lack of guidance by faculties (27.7%, 61/220), Lack of research curriculum (34.1%, 75/230) Inadequate facilities for research (35.5%, 78/220), Inadequate financial support (30.9%, 68/220) and others 2.9% (6/220). The main barriers for conducting research is depicted in Table 4
| Barriers for conducting research | Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of interest | 72 | 32.7 |
| Lack of time | 135 | 31.4 |
| Inadequate knowledge about research methodology | 113 | 51.4 |
| Lack of guidance by faculties | 61 | 27.7 |
| Lack of research curriculum | 75 | 34.1 |
| Inadequate facilities for research | 78 | 35.5 |
| Inadequate financial support | 68 | 30.9 |
| Others | 6 | 2.9 |
Of the participating students, 23.2% (51/220) participated in research during medical school, while 76.8% (179/220) did not. The types of research projects that students participated in included case reports (2.3%, 5/159), clinical trials (2.7%, 6/51), case control studies (5.5%, 12/220) and cross-sectional studies (67.9%, 108/159) (Fig. 2). 6.8% (15/220) presented research paper in conference among this group, 5.9% (13/220) have presented 2 papers and 0.9% (2/220) presented one. 5.9% (13/220) have publications with everyone having one each. Table 5 depicts the experience of students in conducting research.
| Experience in research | Subgroup | Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ever done a research project | Yes | 51 | 23.2 |
| Nature of research project done | Cross | ||
| sectional | 32 | 0 | |
| Cohort | 0 | 0 | |
| Case control | 12 | 5.5 | |
| Clinical trial | 6 | 2.7 | |
| Case report | 5 | 2.3 | |
| Presented research paper in conference | Yes | 15 | 6.8 |
| Having publications | Yes | 13 | 5.9 |
| Number of research papers presented | 1 | 13 | 5.9 |
| 2 | 2 | 0.9 | |
| Number of publications | 1 | 13 | 5.9 |
Discussion
Perceptions, attitudes and practices of senior medical students toward research is the main area of focus in this study. Since understanding the perceptions and attitudes of students toward this issue can lead to improvement of research practices among future physicians, this topic is extremely important.
Important obstacle to learning associated with poor performance in research is the negative attitudes of medical students toward research14. Most of the medical students are not aware of why research is crucial to health care. One of the reasons for such negative attitudes is lack of student conferences and research workshops on how to write and organize research papers14. The encouragement of those young researchers is not sufficient. One of the barriers to pursuing research during medical school due to the busy curriculum is lack of time14. This factor results in a decreased number of medical students interested in participating in research.
Our results are comparable to the results of a study performed in Canada. This study found that although themajority of medical students felt that participation in research activities was likely beneficial to their education, only 44% felt that research will play a significant role in their future career, and only 38% agreed that more time should be set aside in medical school to facilitate more research experience14. In our study, the majority believed that research was important in the medical field (88.6%, 195/220) and a boosting factor for their careers, but only 23.2% (51/220) participated in research during medical school.
The experience can help improve a student's skills in searching and critically appraising the medical literature and independent learning even if research experience as a student does not lead toa career in academic medicine15,16. Also to help identify future careers, establish important contacts and secure better residency positions, such exposure to research as a student will be valuable.
Given the many benefits of doing a research project as a student, in our study, 35.9% (79/220) agreed that research should be mandatory for all medical students, not surprisingly, 97% of students included in an American study considered research a useful alternative to electives15. In the Canadian study, 43% stated that they had no significant involvement in research projects during medical school, and 24% had no interest in any research endeavours14.
However, in Germany, medical students authored 28% of the publications of one institution, includingfirst authorship in 7.8% of papers17. Research is not considered a part of the medical curriculum in many developing countries. 91% of interns reported no research experience inmedical school in a study from India18. Thus, students in India are rarely exposed to research at the stage of their academic development when such exposure could encourage further research19.
In the Canadian study, 43% of respondents agreed that the main reason to participate in research during medical school was to facilitate acceptance into a residency of choice14.
In our study, the motives behind conducting research during medical school included the following: Interested in building a career in research (24.1%, 53/220), would be helpful for academics (36.8%, 81/220), helpful to enter competitive exams like USMLE, PLAB (31.8%, 70/220), to attain research publications (18.2%, 40/220) and other reasons (4.3%, 9/220).
In the Canadian study, lack of time was a significant barrier to pursuing research during medical school as only 31% of all respondents felt there was adequate allotted time for research endeavours14. Furthermore, only 15% of respondents felt that there was sufficient training in research methodology in medical school, and only 25% agreed that there was adequate training in the critical appraisal of scientificliterature.
Another perceived barrier to participation in research was the difficulty in attaining a research supervisor; only 44% of respondents agreed that it was relatively easy to find a research mentor14. The barriers to participating in research in our study included Lack of interest (32.7%, 72/220), lack of time (31.4%, 135/220), Inadequate knowledge about research methodology (51.4%, 113/220), lack of guidance by faculties (27.7%, 61/220), lack of research curriculum (34.1%, 75/220), inadequate facilities for research (35.5%, 78/220), inadequate financial support (30.9%, 68/220) and others 2.9% (6/220).
In order to motivate students to participate in research, finding ways to overcome the obstacles students face is the main way out. Students should be encouraged to participate in research.
Conclusion
Medical schools should update their curricula to include teaching of research methodology, to allocate specific time for research and to require research experience for all medical students. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the perceptions, practices, obstacles and attitudes toward research among medical students in the south Asia. We not only addressed a previously neglected issue in our region but also attempted to comprehensively assess this issue to find ways to overcome the obstacles faced by students. These efforts could lead to an increased involvement of medical students in research.
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