Research of young psychiatrists: A survey on research status, experiences and barriers to research.

Thammanard Charernboon, Phanasathit M. Research of young psychiatrists: A survey on research status, experiences and barriers to research. J Psychiatr Assoc Thailand 2011; 56(2): 189-200.

Objective: The objectives of this survey were to examine involvement in research activities, attitudes towards research, research training experience and barriers to conducting research among young psychiatrists in Thailand.

Method: The study employed cross sectional descriptive survey design. The sample included psychiatrists aged 40 years or under. The questionnaires were developed by the researcher team and mailed to 142 young psychiatrists.

Results: There were 82 responders (57.7% response rate): 30 males and 52 females. Among them were 66 general psychiatrists (80.5%) and 16 child and adolescent psychiatrists (19.5%). Regarding the involvement in research, 58.5% of the sample had been principal investigators and 36.6 % had published papers. Concerning the attitude to research, 53.6% expressed their willingness to do further research. In regard to the past training experience, 80.5% indicated that they had undertaken research courses during residency training, 46.2% had received research training after the completion of residency, and 65.8% were satisfied with their thesis process. Among the greatest barriers to conducting research reported were too much workload (85.4%), non-understandable statistical analyses and software (81.7%), lack of research experience (68.3%), no research advisor (62.2%) and shortage of research funds (50%). There were a number of factors affecting research experiences and opportunities: 1) psychiatrists with training from university hospitals were more likely to be involved in research activities than those with non-university training, 2) those currently working in university hospitals had a higher rate of published papers, and 3) those who were satisfied with their thesis experience were more willing to do more research. 

Conclusion: Just over half of the respondents had remained involved in research activities and keen to do more research after the completion of their residency training. Training and working in university hospitals appeared to provide better research experiences and opportunities for young psychiatrists than in other types of institution. The findings may have implications for interested individuals and parties involved in research