An assessment of the knowledge of clinical researchers in Nigeria: the responsible conduct of clinical research
Adebayo, Kayode Julius
Synopsis "An assessment of the knowledge of clinical researchers in Nigeria: the responsible conduct of clinical research"
Purpose: This study is aimed at assessing the knowledge of clinical researchers in Nigeria about responsible conduct of research. This has become necessary because of the difficulty faced in finding a local, well-trained work force to conduct clinical trials in the developing world. Methods: This study surveyed clinical researchers in Nigeria to determine their level of clinical knowledge within a specific arena of Good Clinical Practice (GCP): the responsible conduct of research. This is a pilot study and the sample size was 50. Subjects were medical researchers trained in Nigeria and currently involved in clinical research. These were drawn from academia, research institutes, teaching hospitals, regional and state hospitals and specialist treatment centers all over the country. After getting the Institutional Review Board [IRB] approval from Northwestern University, Chicago, an introductory email with a link to the 5 minute survey on surveyMonkey was sent to clinical researchers in Nigeria. Two subsequent reminders were sent one week apart. Results: The sample size goal was 50 so a survey email invitation was sent to 90 prospective respondents. Only 23(20.7%) responses were collected after two weeks as stipulated in the research protocol. The results were analyzed despite the poor response because this is a pilot study. There were 14(61%) males and 9(39%) females. Subject ages ranged between 30 and 69 years with the majority between 40 and 49 (43%) years. Most respondents (78%) graduated from medical schools more than 20 years ago. The respondents attended medical schools all over Nigeria; South West (39%), South South (22%), North Central (26%) and South East (13%). Almost all of the respondents, 21 (91%), volunteered that they have completed a formal training in responsible conduct of research. Locations of RCR training included medical school, postgraduate residency training and teaching hospital. Conclusion: Clinical researchers in Nigeria have some knowledge of RCR but more needs to be done in the area of training. The fact that some respondents went online, trained with CITI, or participated in RCR CME is remarkable. This shows the interest level of individuals even when and where resources are seemingly limited. There is a great need for the incorporation of training modules in RCR in the curriculum of students at undergraduate and graduate levels in Nigeria. A follow up study is recommended to more precisely determine the level of knowledge of clinical researchers in Nigeria about Responsible Conduct of Research.
