Health and research in Pakistan

Abstract

1 Ghaff ar A, Zaidi S, Qureshi H, Hafeez A. Medical education and research in Pakistan. Lancet 2013; 381: 2234–36. 2 Mushtaq A, Abid M, Qureshi MA. Assessment of research output at higher level of education in Pakistan. J Pak Med Assoc 2012; 62: 628–32. 3 Andriole DA, Whelan A, Jeff e DB. Characteristics and career intentions of the emerging MD/PhD workforce. JAMA 2008; 300: 1165–73. 4 Solomon SS, Tom SC, Pichert J, Wasserman D, Powers AC. Impact of medical student research in the development of physician-scientists. J Investig Med 2003; 51: 149–56. Clinician scientists are rare in Pakistan, and this is one of the main causes of the scarcity of medical research done in the country. Despite the establishment of the Higher Education Commission in 2002, which has resulted in recent advances in the research output from the Pakistani medical universities, less than 8% of the postgraduate supervisors holding a PhD degree have a medical qualifi cation. It is therefore important not only to highlight the scarcity of clinician scientists in Pakistan, but also to identify the underlying causes, and to implement policies that can revive the medical research culture in Pakistan. Several reasons could explain the reduced number of medical doctors pursuing a research career. For example, because medical research is not incorporated in the medical degree curriculum at a national level (with a few exceptions) junior doctors could find it difficult to develop research interests. Another reason could be the absence of MD/PhD programmes, which have proven beneficial to medical research in other countries, such as the USA. An example of initiatives to promote research at the undergraduate level in the USA is the medical student research fellowship programme of the National Institutes of Health, which has been very well rated by the medical students and recommended to strengthen medical research. Using these examples as a road-map, research attitudes in Pakistan need to evolve to put in place appropriate strategic planning in the health-care sector. There is a dire need for centralised programmes and policies to promote medical research and increase the number of clinician scientists. Pilot studies are needed to assess the willingness of the students, the teaching community, and the government bodies. Generating, enhancing, and promoting research in Pakistan could change the current status of research within the medical community. Health and research in Pakistan