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Allied Health Professional Students’ Perceptions on Research: A Multi-disciplinary Mixed-Methods Study

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Abstract

Introduction

Modern medicine necessitates evidence-based interdisciplinary patient care. Research is at the centre of fostering an evidence-based mindset in healthcare teams. Studies have demonstrated that exposing students to research translates into better patient care. Studies investing the perceptions of students towards research have focused on the views of medical students, leaving the perceptions of allied health professional (AHP) students unaccounted for.

Methods

A mixed-methods, anonymous online questionnaire was distributed to 837 AHP students studying at the University of Malta, across five different courses. The collected data was then statistically analysed through descriptive statistics and chi-square testing. Qualitative results were coded, triangulated and subsequently analysed.

Results

An overall response rate of 28.43% was achieved. Only 2.49% of respondents managed to publish research, despite many participants stating that research is important for their future careers. Career progression and lack of opportunity were identified as the major motivating and stumbling factors, respectively. Students pursuing research-focused degrees considered their curriculum to sufficiently equip them with research skills, compared to students studying clinically oriented degrees (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

The results obtained from this study indicate that the perceptions of AHP students towards research are on par with the already established medical students. AHP students face the same stumbling blocks, are driven by the same motivating factors and experience a similar disparity between interest in research and research being produced, as medical students. Thus, a joint effort, between stakeholders in medical and AHP students’ education, should be taken to address the factors limiting undergraduate students from conducting research. This will enable the implementation of an evidence-based mindset in the clinic, ultimately resulting in better patient care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, Imsida, MSD, 2080, Malta

    Andrea Cuschieri, Desiree Sant & Sarah Cuschieri

  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Imsida, MSD, 2080, Malta

    Shirley Louise Vella & Roderick Schembri

  3. Faculty of Social Wellbeing, University of Malta, Imsida, MSD, 2080, Malta

    Ritienne Demanuele

Authors
  1. Andrea Cuschieri
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  6. Sarah Cuschieri
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Contributions

AC, data collection, data analysis, and manuscript writing; DS, data collection and reviewing the manuscript; SLV, data collection and reviewing the manuscript; RD, data collection and reviewing the manuscript; RS, data collection and reviewing the manuscript; SC, data analysis, editing, and supervision. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

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Correspondence to Andrea Cuschieri.

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Ethical approval was obtained from the Faculty Research and ethics committee (FREC) of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (FREC number: FRECMDS_2021_197).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Cuschieri, A., Sant, D., Vella, S.L. et al. Allied Health Professional Students’ Perceptions on Research: A Multi-disciplinary Mixed-Methods Study. Med.Sci.Educ. 33, 129–138 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-022-01715-6

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