Perceptions of Nigerian medical specialists on research


Submitted: 6 September 2010
Accepted: 26 October 2010
Published: 11 February 2011
Abstract Views: 1152
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The current research aimed at collating the views of medical specialists on disease priorities, class and outcomes of health research in Nigeria, and draw appropriate policy implications. Structured questionnaires were distributed to consent 90 randomly selected medical specialists practising in six Nigerian tertiary health institutions. Participants' background information, relative disease priority, research types and class, type and class of publication media, frequency of publications, challenges faced in publishing research, impact of their research on health practice or policy, and inventions made were probed. Fifty-one out of the 90 questionnaires distributed were returned giving a response rate of 63.3%. Sixty-four point six percent indicated that the highest priority should be given to non communicable diseases while still recognizing that considerations should be giving to the others. They were largely “always” involved in simple low budget retrospective studies or cross-sectional and medical education studies (67.8%) and over a third (37.5%) had never been involved in clinical trials. They largely preferred to “always” publish in PubMed indexed journals that are foreign-based (65.0%). They also indicated that their research works very rarely resulted in inventions (4%) and change (4%) in clinical practice or health policy. Our study respondents indicated that they were largely involved in simple low budget research works that rarely had significant impacts and outcomes. We recommend that adequate resources and research infrastructures particularly funding be made available to medical specialists in Nigeria. Both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in Nigeria should emphasize research training in their curricula.

Abdulraheem Olarongbe Mahmoud, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria.
Ophthalmology, Consultant/Associate Professor
Abdulkabir Ayansiji Ayanniyi, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria.
Ophthalmology, Consultant/Lecturer
Abdul Lawal, Department of Ophthalmology, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.
Ophthalmology, Consultant/Senior Lecturer
Charles Oluwole Omolase, Department of Ophthalmology, Federal Medical Center, Owo, Nigeria
Ophthalmology, Consultant
Yinka Ologunsua, Eye Unit, St Mary’s Catholic Hospital, Ago Iwoye, Nigeria
Ophthalmology, Consultant
Elsie Samaila, Department of Ophthalmology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika-Zaria, Nigeria.
Ophthalmology, Consultant/Professor

Supporting Agencies

None

Mahmoud, A. O., Ayanniyi, A. A., Lawal, A., Omolase, C. O., Ologunsua, Y., & Samaila, E. (2011). Perceptions of Nigerian medical specialists on research. Journal of Public Health in Africa, 2(1), e1. https://doi.org/10.4081/jphia.2011.e1

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