Purpose: Evidence underpinning treatment of older persons with complex conditions is often sparse, and involving more early career physicians committed to optimizing care for older adults may help... Show morePurpose: Evidence underpinning treatment of older persons with complex conditions is often sparse, and involving more early career physicians committed to optimizing care for older adults may help increase a relevant evidence base. We examined perception of and motivation to conduct research in physicians (residents) specializing in care of older adults. Subjects and Methods: Residents of an academic medical centre in the Netherlands enrolled in a 3-year training programme. The programme includes a mandatory evidence-based medicine (EBM) training study on pain and discomfort in cognitively impaired nursing home patients, in which residents perform their research over the 3-year duration of the programme. We employed a mixed-methods design with survey and qualitative interviews (December 2019-April 2020). The survey included validated scales with agreement response options rated 1-7. Qualitative interviews were underpinned by interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Of 38 invited residents, 23 (15 females) participated. The mean score on perceptions of research was 4.1 (SD 0.8); on intrinsic motivation 4.8 (SD 1.0); on extrinsic motivation 4.3, with a higher SD of 1.4. Eight interviews also showed diversity in the extent to which residents felt equipped to conduct the mandatory EBM training study, and research more generally, which was related to previous experiences performing research. The residents generally did not anticipate conducting research themselves despite recognizing the benefits of training in research Conclusion: Perceptions and motivation of the residents specializing in care of older people to conduct research, although considered relevant to their practice, were not very positive. The study results in recommendations to motivate physicians in geriatrics training to conduct research, eg through personalized boosting of self-efficacy. This is crucial to motivate future physicians to contribute to research relevant to older people in more ways than just delivering data for research conceived by (non-clinical) researchers. Show less
Research and design activities are often employed in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education. This study aims to examine students’ attitudes towards doing research and... Show moreResearch and design activities are often employed in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education. This study aims to examine students’ attitudes towards doing research and design activities in secondary school, among two groups of students: (1) students that take the quite recently introduced Dutch subject O&O (research & design), in which students perform authentic research and design projects related to STEM disciplines; and (2) students that do not take O&O. The subject O&O is only taught at a limited number of certified, so called ‘Technasium’, schools. A questionnaire, developed by the authors, was completed by 1625 students from Grades 8 and 11. Unlike previous studies on student attitudes, which usually use abstract concepts like ‘science’ or ‘technology’, the questionnaire used in this study contains active verbs to characterise research and design activities. The results showed that, in general, students who took the subject O&O had more positive attitudes towards doing research and design activities than regular students. Both student groups appeared to find doing design activities more enjoyable than doing research activities. The results of this study provide useful information for teachers as well as teacher educators about the existing attitudes of students, for example their preference for design projects over research projects. Show less
