Experiences, attitudes and barriers towards research amongst junior faculty of Pakistani medical universities
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Background: The developing world has had limited quality research and in Pakistan, research is still in its infancy. We conducted a study to assess the proportion of junior faculty involved in research to highlight their attitude towards research, and identify the factors associated with their research involvement. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four medical universities/teaching hospitals in Pakistan, representing private and public sectors. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 176 junior faculty members of studied universities/hospitals. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors related to attitudes and barriers in research among those currently involved in research with those who were not. Results: Overall, 41.5% of study subjects were currently involved in research. A highly significant factor associated with current research involvement was research training during the post-graduate period (p < 0.001). Other factors associated with current involvement in research were male gender, working in the public sector and previous involvement in research. Overall, a large majority (85.2%) of doctors considered research helpful in their profession and had a positive attitude towards research; nevertheless this positive attitude was more frequently reported by doctors who were currently involved in research compared to those who were not (OR = 4.69; 95% CI = 1.54-14.26). Similarly, a large proportion (83.5%) of doctors considered research difficult to conduct; higher by doctors who were not presently involved in research (OR = 2.74; 95% CI = 1.20-6.22) Conclusion: Less than half of the study participants were currently involved in research. Research output may improve if identified barriers are rectified. Further studies are recommended in this area.
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Sabzwari S et al. reported that 42.5% of participants identified inadequate support from guides and supervisors as a major obstacle.
“Giri PA et al., (16.4%) and Sabzwari S et al., (42.5%) reported that inadequate support from guides and supervisors was a major obstacle (23),(25).”
From Research Publication Challenges Faced by Dentists in India: A Narrative Review of Multilevel Barriers (2026) · cites this paper as [25]
Results, Table 2 reports that 42.5% of participants presently involved in research identified lack of mentorship as a barrier, which broadly matches inadequate support from guides or supervisors. The figure does not apply to all participants: the corresponding figure for those not involved in research was 48.5%. (LLM, conf=0.90)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSabzwari S et al. revealed that 47.2% of teachers expressed a lack of confidence in performing statistical analysis.
“A survey conducted by Sabzwari S et al., revealed that 47.2% of teachers expressed a lack of confidence in performing statistical analysis (25),”
From Research Publication Challenges Faced by Dentists in India: A Narrative Review of Multilevel Barriers (2026) · cites this paper as [25]
Table 2 in the Results reports 47.2% for ‘lack of statistical support,’ but only among junior faculty presently involved in research who said research was difficult. It does not report that 47.2% of all surveyed teachers lacked confidence in performing statistical analysis. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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Saran, K., Krishnaprakash, G., Siluvai, S., & Indumathi, K. (2026) · Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research · doi:10.7860/jcdr/2026/78238.22217
- Authors
- Sabzwari, S., Kauser, S., & Khuwaja, A. K.
- Affiliations
- Aga Khan University (PK)
- Corresponding author
- Khuwaja, Ali Khan
- ORCID
- Sabzwari, Saniya
- Venue
- BMC Medical Education
- Published
- 2009-11-16
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 68-68
- ISSN
- 1472-6920 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2780986
- OpenAlex
- W2141543247
- Cited by
- 127
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BMC Medical Education (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eCommons - AKU (Aga Khan University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Health and Medical Research Impacts
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Diversity and Career in Medicine
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
- Keywords
- research engagement, new faculty, medical education, attitudes toward research, barriers to research, research training, graduate education, gender differences, public-private comparison, Pakistan
- MeSH terms
- Academic Medical Centers, Adult, Age Factors, Attitude of Health Personnel, Cross-Sectional Studies, Developing Countries, Female, Hospitals, Teaching, Humans, Interprofessional Relations, Job Satisfaction, Male, Medical Staff, Hospital, Pakistan, Personal Satisfaction, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Factors, Confidence Intervals, Logistic Models, Odds Ratio, Biomedical Research
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