Scientific Production and Perception of Research among Students from Seven Dentistry Faculties in Peru

Abstract

Introduction: There is limited evidence concerning the development of academic scientific research in the field of dentistry in Peru. Objective: To determine the scientific production and perceptions about research among dentistry students and its association with gender, university affiliation, and academic year. Methods: This multi-center, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted on a non-probabilistic sample of undergraduate students from seven dentistry faculties in Peru. Participants were provided with a structured questionnaire to record general information and their views on scientific research and production. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were employed to correlate the study variables. Results: A total of 468 students participated, with an average age of 21.7 years. Of these, 66.9% were female. The majority rated their knowledge in the three assessed research areas as average. A higher number of monographs were produced by students from the Sierra region (p <0.001). Greater production of clinical reports and theses (p <0.001) was observed among fifth and sixth-year students. Only 11 (2.4%) students published scientific papers, predominantly from coastal universities (p = 0.027) and in their fifth and sixth academic years (p = 0.003). Conclusions: The scientific production of dentistry students was found to be low. An association was identified between certain research perception variables and the students’ university affiliation. Additionally, a correlation was observed between scientific publication and academic work with university or origin and year of study.

Keywords

• education
• dental
• scientific communication and diffusion
• students
• peru