Perceptions, barriers, and attitudes toward research among in-training physicians in Saudi Arabia: A multicenter survey.

The outcomes of patient care are improved by adequate knowledge, practical skills, and positive attitude. Currently, there is a lack of data on medical research activities among resident doctors in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to evaluate the perception, barriers, and research attitudes among various residency programs running in different cities of Saudi Arabia. A total of 434 surgical and medical residents participated in the current study. A cross-sectional study encompassing multiple training centers in the eastern province of Saudi. Convenient sampling technique was used to include all the working training residents. A self-administered questionnaire was formulated for data collection. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the data. The mean age of the residents with various specialties was 27.83 ± 2.41 years. Approximately 61.7% had participated in research, while 38.3% had never participated in any research. A total of 26% of junior and 44% of senior residents have one publication only. While 11% of junior and 9% of senior residents have three publications or more. Inadequate facilities for research, lack of baseline research skills, and personal commitments were the reasons which over 60% of respondents had agreed on. Institutional reasons: lack of professional supervisor support and lack of research curriculum in the training program was reported by 308 (71%) and 305(70.3%) residents, respectively. A lack of interest for research was prevailed more in males (19%) compared to females (14%) (OR 1.43, 95% CI: 0.86-2.38, p-value 0.17). A subset of residents had one or three publications, while some had none. A lack of baseline research skills and inadequate facilities for scientific explorations, time, and funds were the main constraints among training residents. However, several residents had a positive attitude toward research but fewer publications. Thus, training in medical research methodology should be obligatory in the residency curriculum in all specialties. Further research is needed.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Ramadan Fasting and Related Determinants in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes at a Saudi Diabetes Clinic.

OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients to assess their knowledge, attitude and practice about fasting during Ramadan and to identify the sociodemographic determinants of the knowledge, attitude and practice. METHODS: A total of 107 T2DM patients were interviewed at a diabetes clinic in the Eastern Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire containing knowledge, attitude and practice questions about fasting during Ramadan was used to collect data. Data about age, gender, city of residence, nationality, level of education, and history of diabetes in family were also collected. Descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out using IBM-SPSS Version 21. RESULTS: The mean total score for knowledge, attitude and practice was 16.5 ±3.72 (out of 27). The individual scores for knowledge, attitude and practice were: 9.67±2.53 (out of 16), 4.10±1.28 (out of 6), and 2.77±1.08 (out of 5), respectively. Gender (OR: 4.08, 95% CI: 1.05,15.79 and p<0.041), education (OR: 0.068, 95% CI: 0.008,0.594, p<0.015) and family history (OR: 5.086, 95% CI: 1.095, 23.630 p<0.038) were identified as independent determinants of the total score. CONCLUSION: Gender, Family history of diabetes and Education are determinants of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding fasting during Ramadan in the T2DM patients. A significant knowledge practice gap exists that necessitates further strengthening of the Pre-Ramadan education program for T2DM patients.