Background: Research is an essential component in the advancement of medicine. Evidence indicates
that developing regions have low research productivity and contribution to the international
literature. It is unclear if physicians' attitudes and perceptions of research could
be contributory. Objectives: This study examined the attitudes to research, perceived barriers to research, and
experiences of prior participation in research projects among physicians from the
Middle East and Africa. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey was developed based on the published literature
to address these questions and was E-mailed to a large sample of practising clinicians
and academics. Results: A total of 283 responses received, 61.1% were men with a mean age of 48 years. Responses
originated from 23 countries. The majority were from the Middle East (79.2%), whereas
29.9% were from African countries. Over half of physicians (51.1%) held high-level
speciality qualifications and were senior clinicians or academics (50.9%). Regarding
engagement in research, 41.3% were interested in research but not involved at the
time of the survey, 38.5% were involved but not formally employed in a research role,
12.7% had formal research roles, and 7.4% were not interested in research. Majority
conducting research held lead-investigator roles (44.2%) followed by co-investigator
roles in 37.9% of respondents. Most of the research work was self-initiated original
research (42.6%) followed by clinical case series (35.7%). Main motivators to conduct
research were contributing to the practice and improving patients' care. Main deterrents
to research were lack (41.7% of respondents) and/or difficulty in acquiring research
funding (50.2%), in addition to the lack of research-protected time (40.5%). Conclusions: The majority of physicians interested and/or involved in research are not formally
employed in a research role. The facilitators seem to stem from personal interest
and professional recognition, whereas barriers result from lack of time, support,
and expertise.
Key-words:
Doctors - emerging regions - medical knowledge - practice-based learning and improvement
- professionalism - research - systems-based practice