Perspectives in Medical Research

Abstract

Introduction: BPromotion of biomedical research among postgraduate medical students is of immense importance and there is an urgent need of sensitization and incorporation of research skills among them for the generation of new knowledge and evidences in the field of medical sciences. The present study was undertaken with the objective of evaluation of knowledge, attitude and practices related to medical research among postgraduate medical students before and after a three days workshop.
Materials and Methods:Present study was carried out during basic research methodology workshop held at Government Medical College, Nagpur, India during the period between September and October 2013. Pre and post-test study design was used. Study participants include 109 postgraduates admitted to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) / Master of Surgery (MS) course, from all the specialties of which 107 were included for final analysis. A pretested, semi-structured questionnaire was developed based on the study objectives, by reviewing the existing literature. The questionnaire consisted of evaluation of baseline characteristics, knowledge and attitude of the postgraduate students about biomedical research. Statistical measures obtained were numbers, percentages and mean values. The paired sample t test was used to compare the mean knowledge and attitude scores before and after the workshop.
Results: Mean age of study participants was 27.45 ±1.74 years. The average monthly income of resident doctor was Rs.33615. Presentations at various conferences were done by 42.05% and 9.34% had publication record. Training about research and ethics was not received by 90.82% study subjects. Significant improvement was observed in the mean knowledge score after the workshop (36.07% vs. 77.38%; p-value 0.000). Significant improvement was observed in the mean attitude score after the workshop (36.07% vs. 75.83%; p-value 0.000).
Conclusion :This study investigated the impact of a workshop on research skills, as a short-term intervention on the knowledge and attitudes of medical students regarding health research. Significant improvement was observed in the level of knowledge and attitude of medical students at the end of the workshop.