The regular use of Medical Apps on mobile devices is not common among medical students of KAU.

ObjectiveThere is a lack of research-oriented physicians in several Arab countries and especially in Gulf region countries. In this context, it is important to explore medical students’ perceptions and motivations towards research. The aim of the present study was to investigate research attitude, practices, and motivations among medical students from GCC countries.ResultsThere were 228 students who participated in this study (male 88, females 140). Thirty-eight percent of the students were participating from Saudi Arabia, 20.6% from the UAE, 17.1% from Oman, 12.7% from Kuwait and 11.4% from Bahrain. Among participants, 43.0% had experience of funded research, and 53.1% had a contribution to research. The confidence of participants in their ability to interpret and to write a research paper was quite high (70.2%). The majority of the students (87.3%) believed that undergraduate students could conduct research and can present at conferences. Improving research skills, attaining research publication, and improvement in patient care were claimed as the top three motives for conducting research. The majority (75.0%) were compelled to research to facilitate their acceptance to a residency program and 63.6% due to compulsion for a research methodology course.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3381-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective:To investigate physicians’ perceptions and practices towards Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and physicians perceived barriers in one institute of Saudi Arabia.Methods:One hundred seventeen practicing physicians at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah were included in the study. A validated questionnaire was used for collecting data. The questionnaire had four parts and included questions addressing perceptions and practices about EBM as well as associated variables and barriers to practicing it.Results:The majority of the respondents had a positive attitude toward EBM. Only 23.9% of participants reported that they are incorporating EBM into their practice. Knowledge about EBM databases was not good. The most common “regularly” read journal was the New England Journal of Medicine (31.6%), followed by the British Medical Journal (12.0%). Some of the respondents had an understanding and were able to explain to others the technical terms use in EBM such as odds ratio (19.7%), relative risk (22.2%), absolute risk (23.9%) and others. The major perceived barriers to practicing EBM was the lack of free personal time (27.4%), availability and access to information (27.4%), difficulties in involving in whole practice (12.0%) and lack of investment by health authorities (12.8%).Conclusion:The attitude of the practicing doctors towards EBM was good, but knowledge and practice were not up to the mark.