Exploring clinical research efficacy of teaching and practicing medical professionals in Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: The current study aimed to explore clinical research efficacy of teaching and practicing medical professionals in Pakistan. The role of socio-demographic factors in this context was also investigated.
 Methods: This study using cross-sectional research design was carried out from August to December 2019. A sample of teaching and practicing medical professionals (N=96) was collected through purposive sampling from Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory (CRAI) was used along with the demographic datasheet. Research data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-21).
 Results: The results of the study revealed that teaching and practicing medical professionals feel most competent in ‘collaborating with others’ while the research area in which they feel least competent is ‘securing funds for a study’. It was found that there are significant differences in the research efficacy of teaching and practicing medical professionals with reference to age (p< 0.00), gender (p< 0.01), designation (p< 0.00), number of articles published (p< 0.00), number of articles under review (p< 0.03), number of articles submitted (p< 0.03), and number of funded projects completed (p< 0.02). Satisfaction with salary and number of hours at work per week have no impact on their research efficacy.
 Conclusions: Findings have implications for policy makers and medical institutions to promote research skills in teaching and practicing medical professionals.
 doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.3.2395
 How to cite this:Akhtar M, Irfan A. Exploring clinical research efficacy of teaching and practicing medical professionals in Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(3):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.3.2395
 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Oral versus Rectal Diclofenac Sodium: Comparison of efficacy for Perineal pain relief after Episiotomy

“…In a placebo-controlled trial Akhtar used single dose of 100mg diclofenac suppository and compared its efficacy with placebo after 24 hours, with 45 women in each group. 20 She observed a significant pain reduction with a mean pain score of 2.29 with diclofenac suppository which supports the result of our study (mean pain score of 2.93 in suppository group) although we used two doses of 50 mg at 12 hours interval. Analgesic efficacy of oral paracetamol 500mg BD was compared with diclofenac suppository 75mg BD by Francis and colleagues in 30 women after episiotomy.…”

“…Mean age of women in our study is comparable with study by Akhtar F where majority (63%) women were between 18-30 years. 20 In our study 76% women were primiparous and only 24% were multiparous. Varghese SS and Francis F only included primiparous women in their study.…”