Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, Education and Research

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VOLUME 52 , ISSUE 3 ( July-September, 2018 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Effectiveness of a Course on Research Methodology in a Pediatric Residency Program

Farah N Qamar, Khadija N Humayun, Sana Saeed, Arshalooz J Rahman, Hashim Ahmed, Kashif Karim

Keywords : Pakistan, Research course, Residency training

Citation Information : Qamar FN, Humayun KN, Saeed S, Rahman AJ, Ahmed H, Karim K. Effectiveness of a Course on Research Methodology in a Pediatric Residency Program. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2018; 52 (3):117-119.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10028-1285

License: NA

Published Online: 01-09-2018

Copyright Statement:  NA


Abstract

Background: The lack of physician's training in research and conducting interdisciplinary/translational or clinical research has been discussed for more than a decade. Little is done to make research methodology as a core curriculum for residency programs, especially in developing countries. The Department of Pediatrics at the Aga Khan University, Pakistan, started a course on child health research methods in 2010 and we report the improvement in knowledge of the residents as a result of introduction of this course. Materials and methods: We conducted a 1-year course with fortnightly sessions to provide an overview of how to plan and conduct a research project. Major topics included identifying research questions, techniques of literature search, basic principles of epidemiology including types of study designs, measures of disease frequency and association, protocol and questionnaire development, basic biostatistics, ethical issues involved in human subject research, and data and bibliography management. For the assessment of impact, the pretest– posttest design was used. Results: Thirty residents filled the pre- and posttest questionnaires. There was significant improvement in the knowledge of basic epidemiology and biostatistics (p = 0.02 and <0.01 respectively). Baseline knowledge of ethics was good and did not improve significantly in the posttest. There was a significant difference in the overall mean pre- and posttest scores [p = 0.014, confidence interval (CI) 1.05–1.7] Conclusion: The research methodology course in the residency curriculum improves awareness and understanding of young postgraduate trainees in basic epidemiology.


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