Health research: Perspective of physicians-in-training in a developing country

Background: Assessment of the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards research amongst a group of Post Graduate Medical Trainees (PGMTs’) at Aga Khan University (AKU), Pakistan. Methods: A cross sectional health research survey was carried out on all PGMTs’ at AKU Pakistan. AKU is a tertiary care health facility which offers residency in 28 specialties and fellowship in 16 programmes. Knowledge, attitudes and practices related to health research were assessed using a pretested, structured and validated questionnaire. Health research related practices of the residents were examined using questions graded on Likert scale. Results: Mean percentage score± SD on the knowledge scale was 36.9%±20.2 and 47.19%±25.18 on the attitude scale. Private medical school training was a significant predictor of PGME trainee knowledge and attitudes towards research (p<0.005). Of 104(55.6%) who had previously participated in research 28(14.9%) had been involved in basic science research only, 62(33.2%) in clinical research and 14(7.5%) had participated in both clinical and basic science research projects. About 88(47.1%) planned to pursue a future research career. Those who planned to pursue a future research career had more positive health research attitudes p<0.001. Limited time (45%), poor research infrastructure (20%) and inadequate research funding opportunities (20%) were the major hurdles faced by PGMTs’ to pursue research. Conclusion: PGMTs’ demonstrate inadequate knowledge, while they have moderate attitudes towards health research. Residency training and research facilities at the institution need to undergo major transformation in order to encourage meaningful research by resident trainees.