Assessing the Awareness of Egyptian Medical Students about Responsible Conduct of Research and Research Ethics: Impact of an Educational Campaign

ABSTRACT

This is a quasi-experimental pre-post assessment study utilizing an anonymous self-administered questionnaire to assess Egyptian medical students’ awareness about responsible conduct of research (RCR) and research ethics. Students’ were assessed before and after an RCR awareness campaign. Our results showed that most of the pre-campaign respondents were not familiar with the basic principles and terms of RCR. An increase in the awareness about RCR across all discussed topics was noted following the campaign. We concluded that an educational awareness campaign is effective in increasing medical students’ awareness about RCR and should be incorporated into current medical school curricula in Egypt.

KEYWORDS:

• Egypt
• medical students
• plagiarism
• research misconduct
• responsible conduct

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the valuable comments of Elizabeth Heitman (Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt, TN, USA) on the draft booklet of the campaign. We are thankful to the students of Ain Shams Medical Students’ Research Association (AMSRA) who planned and executed the RCR awareness campaign. Special thanks are due to Ibrahim Shaarawi, Taha Ali, and Aya Abd El Salam for helping in the questionnaire of pre-campaign participants. Thanks to Mohamed Youssef for helping with the statistical analysis of the collected data. Acknowledgement is also due to the late Professor Mamdouh H. El Kafrawy, the dear departed Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, for his support and encouragement throughout the project.