Bakhshi Saqib K, Abdul Rahim Komal, Merchant Asma A H, Afzal Noreen, Qadeer Shaikh Namra, Noorali Ali A, Lakhdir Maryam P A, Mahmood Saad B Z, Tariq Muhammad, Haider Adil H
Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan.
Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan.
Postgrad Med J. 2023 Oct 19;99(1177):1182-1188. doi: 10.1093/postmj/qgad062.
We aimed to determine the perceptions of, barriers to, and predictors of research engagement amongst residents at a national level in Pakistan.
This cross-sectional study used REDCap for online survey dissemination to residents from 12 institutes accredited by the national accreditation body (College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan) for core medical and surgical specialties. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between likelihood of publications and participant characteristics.
The response rate was 79% (333/423), with 171 (51%) medical and 162 (49%) surgical residents. The mean ± standard deviation age was 28.8 ± 2.7 years; 137 (41%) were males and 195 (59%) females. More than half the residents, 202 (61%), had received research training, but 189 (57%) scored <33% on basic research knowledge. While most residents agreed on the positive impact of research on their careers (P = .012) and realized that they should be involved in it (P = .33), they also strongly believed that it was difficult to engage in research during training (P < .01). Only 60 (18%) trainees had published a paper in local and 37 (11%) in international journals, respectively. The most significant barriers to conducting research included time limitation due to clinical work, lack of financial support, and unavailability of data (P < .01).
Residents have a positive attitude towards research. However, research engagement among residents is low. Improving research mentorship and creating systems that enable protected time and institutional access to data are needed to increase research output of postgraduate trainees. Key messages What is already known on this topic Postgraduate trainees benefit academically from research conducted during residency training. However, in low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan, research output among residents has remained low over the years. The nation has consistently produced very little research. What this study adds The current study helped shed light on the reasons for low research productivity amongst medical and surgical residents in Pakistan. How this study might affect research, practice, or policy The potential predictors for low research involvement highlighted in this study necessitate modification of the existing national residency curriculum to increase research engagement and productivity among residents. Not only can the potential factors be improved, but the study also helps in bringing stakeholders' attention to increasing research opportunities in Pakistan.
我们旨在确定巴基斯坦全国范围内住院医师对研究参与的看法、障碍及预测因素。
这项横断面研究使用REDCap在线向来自12家经国家认证机构（巴基斯坦内科医师与外科医师学院）认证的核心医学和外科专业机构的住院医师进行调查。采用逻辑回归估计发表论文可能性与参与者特征之间的关联。
回复率为79%（333/423），其中内科住院医师171名（51%），外科住院医师162名（49%）。平均年龄±标准差为28.8±2.7岁；男性137名（41%），女性195名（59%）。超过一半的住院医师，即202名（61%），接受过研究培训，但189名（57%）在基础研究知识方面得分低于33%。虽然大多数住院医师认同研究对其职业有积极影响（P = 0.012），并意识到他们应该参与研究（P = 0.33），但他们也坚信在培训期间很难参与研究（P < 0.01）。分别只有60名（18%）实习生在国内期刊发表过论文，37名（11%）在国际期刊发表过论文。开展研究的最主要障碍包括临床工作导致的时间限制、缺乏资金支持以及无法获取数据（P < 0.01）。
住院医师对研究持积极态度。然而，住院医师的研究参与度较低。需要改善研究指导，并建立能够提供保护时间和机构数据访问权限的系统，以提高研究生实习生的研究产出。关键信息关于该主题已知的情况研究生实习生在住院医师培训期间进行的研究在学术上有益。然而，在像巴基斯坦这样的低收入和中等收入国家，多年来住院医师的研究产出一直很低。该国一直产出极少的研究成果。本研究的补充内容本研究有助于阐明巴基斯坦内科和外科住院医师研究生产力低下的原因。本研究可能对研究、实践或政策产生的影响本研究中突出的研究参与度低的潜在预测因素有必要对现有的国家住院医师课程进行修改，以提高住院医师的研究参与度和生产力。不仅可以改善潜在因素，该研究还有助于使利益相关者关注增加巴基斯坦的研究机会。
