A Limited Number Of Theses Address Health Research Priorities In A Medical School In Peru

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the proportion of undergraduate theses written in a medical school which were framed within the national health research priorities (HRP) agenda or dealt with priorities of the Arequipa region. A cross-sectional study was conducted of 624 undergraduate theses written in a Peruvian university from 2011 to 2017. Of the theses written from 2011 to 2015, 23.4% (110) had to do with the national 2011-2014 HRPs, whereas 36% ( 55) of those written in 2016 and 2017 responded to the national 2015-2021 HRPs. Of the theses written from 2011 to 2015, 9.6 % (4) had to do with the 2011-2014 HRPs for the Arequipa region, whereas 36.6 % (56) of those written in 2016 and 2017 were framed in the 2015-2021 HRPs for the Arequipa region. It was concluded that a low proportion of the theses studied address health research priorities.