Experiences, attitudes and barriers towards research amongst junior faculty of Pakistani medical universities.
BACKGROUND
The developing world has had limited quality research and in Pakistan, research is still in its infancy. We conducted a study to assess the proportion of junior faculty involved in research to highlight their attitude towards research, and identify the factors associated with their research involvement.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted in four medical universities/teaching hospitals in Pakistan, representing private and public sectors. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 176 junior faculty members of studied universities/hospitals. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors related to attitudes and barriers in research among those currently involved in research with those who were not.


RESULTS
Overall, 41.5% of study subjects were currently involved in research. A highly significant factor associated with current research involvement was research training during the post-graduate period (p < 0.001). Other factors associated with current involvement in research were male gender, working in the public sector and previous involvement in research. Overall, a large majority (85.2%) of doctors considered research helpful in their profession and had a positive attitude towards research; nevertheless this positive attitude was more frequently reported by doctors who were currently involved in research compared to those who were not (OR = 4.69; 95% CI = 1.54-14.26). Similarly, a large proportion (83.5%) of doctors considered research difficult to conduct; higher by doctors who were not presently involved in research (OR = 2.74; 95% CI = 1.20-6.22)


CONCLUSIONS
Less than half of the study participants were currently involved in research. Research output may improve if identified barriers are rectified. Further studies are recommended in this area.
Sabzwari
Saniya
S
Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. saniya.sabzwari@aku.edu
Kauser
Samreen
S
Khuwaja
Ali Khan
AK
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010154:Pakistan; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires