Knowledge, Attitudes, Experiences, and Perceived Barriers to Health Research Among Clinical-Year Medical Students at Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Investing in developing the research skills of medical students is crucial for improving the healthcare systems. This study assesses the knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and barriers to research as perceived by undergraduate clinical year medical students at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was used to assess the knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and barriers to research among clinical year undergraduate medical students at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. The study population included clinical-year medical students at Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences, from April 1, 2023, to August 1, 2023. The final sample size was calculated to be 244. Stratified random sampling was used to select study participants. On the basis of the strata, 99, 70 and 75 responses were expected from 4th year, 5th year and 6th year medical students, respectively. The selected participants were requested to fill out the Google forms. ANOVA and t tests were used to study the associations between knowledge score and age, sex, and year of study. Results: -value .150). A total of 72.5% reported medical school as their primary source of education/training in research. In terms of the roles taken in the research, only 38 (15.6%) had participated as primary investigators. A total of 134 (54.9%) participants participated as data collectors, 59 (24.2%) participated in data analysis, and 25 (10.2%) participated in writing. Among the major barriers mentioned, lack of opportunity in research (56.1%) took the lead, followed by lack of time (54.1%), lack of guidance and supervision (48.8%), and lack of resources (28.3%). Data analysis and logistics and finances were reported as challenging factors for conducting research. Conclusion: Overall, in this study, knowledge of clinical year medical students on research was inadequate. While research was noted as crucial by majority of the students in this study, lack of opportunity, time, resources, guidance, and supervision were the major barriers faced by the participants. This calls for collective action by the college administration to work on investing more resources and providing research opportunities to medical students.