Clinical Practice and Research Involvement of the Gastroenterologists of Bangladesh: A Mini Appraisal

Introduction: The ratio of gastroenterologist specialists according to the patients must be developed in Bangladesh. Besides clinical practice, the significant role to research among registered gastroenterologists has yet to be explored. With the Evaluation of the pattern of procedures practiced by the gastroenterologists of Bangladesh, this study will record the involvement of the practitioners in medical research.

Methods: This online email-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between January 2021 to May 2021. A total of 106 registered gastroenterologists participated in the study. The survey instrument was prepared based on the insight of the previous literature. The survey collected information about their socio-demographic characteristics, current practice of interventions, involvement in research, and the perceived barriers of clinical practice and research work. All the statistical analyses were carried out in SPSS version 26.0. Data were presented with frequency distribution with percentage for categorical data and mean with standard deviation (SD) or median with interquartile range (IQR) for the continuous data.

Results: The gastroenterologists' mean (SD) age was 44.76 (6.43) years, and 92% were male. Their median duration of practice was 7 (range 1-27) years. Around 82% of them were working in the public hospital sector. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) (98%) and Colonoscopy (93%) were the most frequently performed procedures, followed by Endoscopic band ligation (EBL) (77%), endoscopic dilatation (46%), narrow-band imaging (NBI) and esophageal stenting (28%). Lack of advanced training and skilled supporting staff (49%) were the most common barriers to performing the advanced procedures. Almost half of the participants had at least one scientific publication. Lack of funding (69%), adequate research training, and appropriate mentors (59%) were the significant barriers to research involvement. In addition, half of the respondents (49%) also mentioned prolonged involvement in clinical schedules was also a barrier to contributing to research.

Conclusion: Nowadays, it is a matter of hope that, advances interventions are preformed by a remarkable gastroenterologists. Initiatives to decline the barriers, including providing adequate training and technical support, can improve their clinical service and research activities.