Abstract :
Background and Objectives: Research by medical students in Yemen is limited both in terms of quantity and quality. In this light, the early recruitment of medical students into research activities can encourage them to become academically adept and professionally renowned physicians. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and obstacles regarding medical research among medical undergraduates in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ibb University, Yemen.
Materials and Methods: For the purpose of this study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical students at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ibb University, Yemen. This survey involved medical students at their 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th academic years, who participated in this study from August 01, 2022, to September 30, 2022. The permission to conduct the survey was obtained from the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ibb University. The data gathered from the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results: About 174 (92.6%) respondents completed the survey questionnaire. The mean age of these respondents was 23.34 years. Notably, most of them demonstrated low levels of concomitant knowledge despite having positive attitudes toward medical research. Only a few students agreed with the following statements in the questionnaire: there is allotted time to pursue research (14.9% agreed); there is adequate training in research methodology (12.1% agreed); there are sufficient reward/motivations for participation in research (9.2% agreed); there is adequate training on writing a manuscript (9.2% agreed); there is adequate training on the performance of simple statistical analysis (10.4% agreed); research mentors are readily available (16.6% agreed); and it is easy to obtain a permit to conduct research from an institution (20.7% agreed). In addition, less than half of the respondents agreed with the statement that adequate medical research facilities exist in Yemen (39.1%).
Conclusion: Most of the respondents in this study showed low levels of knowledge regarding research, despite having positive attitudes toward it. The primary barriers hindering research practices were the following: lack of allotted time to pursue research, lack of adequate training on writing a manuscript, and lack of training on the performance of simple statistical analysis. Moreover, the survey respondents noted a lack of research mentors and difficulties in getting approval for conducting research from their institution.
Keyword :
Attitude, Awareness, Knowledge, Medical students, Obstacles, Research