title: Evidence-Based Decision Making in Public Health: Capacity Building for Public Health Students at King Saud University in Riyadh.
abstract: Translation of research evidence into public health programs is lagging in Eastern Mediterranean Region. Graduate level public health curriculum at King Saud University (KSU), College of Medicine, Riyadh, is designed to equip students to integrate best available evidence in public health decision making. The objectives of study were to explore students' opinion about the evidence based public health (EBPH) courses and to survey the knowledge, opinion, and attitude of the students towards EBPH and perceived barriers for implementation of EBPH in decision making in public health. EBPH courses are designed based on a sequential framework. A survey was conducted at the completion of EBPH courses. Forty-five graduate students were invited to complete a validated self-administered questionnaire. It included questions about demography, opinion, and attitude towards EBPH and perceived barriers towards implementation of EBPH in the work environment. The response rate was 73%. Mean age of students was 30.1 (SD 2.3) years, and 51% were males. More than 80% had sound knowledge and could appreciate the importance of EBPH. The main perceived barriers to incorporate EBPH in decision making were lack of system of communication between researchers and policy makers and scarcity of research publications related to the public health problems.
authors.affiliation: Chair of Evidence-Based Healthcare and Knowledge Translation, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia; Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hayfaa A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Wahabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia; Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz Research Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Amna Rehana
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia; Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz Research Chair for Epidemiology and Public Health, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ashry G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ali M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Al-Hazmi
authors.affiliation: Medical Informatics & E-Learning Unit, Medical Education Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia; Research Chair in Health Informatics and Promotion, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia; School of Computer Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nasriah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zakaria
authors.affiliation: Chair of Evidence-Based Healthcare and Knowledge Translation, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia; Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925 (Internal Code 34), Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Lubna A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Al-Ansary
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003657:Decision Making; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D040443:Students, Public Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities