Knowledge and attitude regarding stem cell research and its application among medical students in Pakistan

Abstract

Background The use of stem cells (SCs) has led the way into a new era of therapeutics known as regenerative medicine. Their renewal property offers exciting possibilities in reversing tissue damage caused by metabolic and degenerative changes. Research should be conducted increasingly to explore the possibilities of SC utilization in Pakistan. Objectives To assess the level of knowledge, perception, and attitude of medical students regarding stem cell research (SCR) and its application, to obtain a better insight into the future of stem cell therapy in Pakistan as it is a rapidly emerging field in medicine. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire filled by 206 medical students from different medical colleges in Pakistan. A convenience sampling method was used. Knowledge and attitude scores were calculated based on answers to 28 well-structured questions. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Results The mean values of the answers showed that 68.9% (n=142) of the students had good knowledge and 31.1% (n=64) had poor knowledge of stem cells. Whereas, 56.8% (n=117) expressed positive attitude and 43.2% (n=89) expressed negative attitude towards SCR. Independent t-test applied on knowledge and attitude scores showed that the mean knowledge score of people with a positive attitude is higher i.e. 21.25 as compared to the mean knowledge score of people with negative attitude i.e. 19.21. And the difference of the means is significant at p=0.007. Thus, the attitude of students was observed to be significantly dependent on their knowledge about SCR. Conclusion The results show that medical students have baseline knowledge about SC therapy and a positive attitude towards it. Seminars, workshops should be conducted and this topic should be added to their syllabus so that they obtain proper information about SCR and encourage further research.

Knowledge, attitude, and ethical concepts of Sudanese medical students regarding stem cells and its application

“…Regarding the attitude of the students towards stem cells the majority of the students were not worried or unsure that [14] However, less than half of our participants (47.9%) consider that competency in stem cell knowledge is important for them as healthcare providers.…”

“…Our results showed that a great majority of the participants were aware of the ability of stem cells to divide and self-renew for long periods (88.6%), and almost two-thirds of them agreed that stem cells could be produced by manipulating the genes of normal skin cells (64.9%) those results are similar to a study conducted in Pakistan among medical students. [ 14 ] Meanwhile, two-thirds of our participants (65.6%) admitted that umbilical cord stem cell transplantation is less efficient compared with bone marrow transplantation, in a similar study conducted among healthcare providers only a third of them (31.2%) agreed to that. [ 4 ] This difference may be attributed to the fact that our students are all medical students studying medicine compared to the diversity in the fields among the other population, consisting mainly of health care providers other than doctors who may be less knowledgeable about stem cells.…”

“…Our participants were more mindful of the disadvantage of stem cell transplantation as it could result in tumor formation (61.7%) compared to similar studies in Pakistan and Malaysia with lower percentages. [ 12 , 14 ] Moreover, more than half of the participants (63.6%) agreed that there should be more awareness programs about stem cells, which reflects a good desire to learn among the students.…”

“…Regarding the attitude of the students towards stem cells the majority of the students were not worried or unsure that stem cell transplantation might open doors to human being killed for others (74.8%), this result correspondent to a study conducted by Mashal Daud. [ 14 ] However, less than half of our participants (47.9%) consider that competency in stem cell knowledge is important for them as healthcare providers. Meanwhile, in a study conducted among healthcare providers a great majority of them (85.6%) considered competency in stem cells to be important, [ 4 ] this might be because the latter have more contact with the clinical practice and have witnessed great advances in the field of medicine that made them address the need to the knowledge.…”