State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr MA Muhit on Monday stressed the need to translate research findings into health policies and programmes to improve patient care and influence resource allocation.
“Research has its greatest impact when it brings changes to a country’s policies or to policies in a particular field internationally,” he said while presenting the keynote paper at the inauguration of a 22-week research methodology course at Dhaka Medical College (DMC).
Titled “The Research Journey: From Idea to Publication”, the certified course has been launched by the Bangladesh Society of Medicine in collaboration with the departments of Medicine and Gastroenterology of DMC.
The course will feature weekly lectures over 22 weeks, covering the research process from developing an idea and formulating research questions to writing protocols, analysing data and publishing findings.
The state minister said research could bring changes to clinical practice, help develop new programmes and expand patients’ access to treatment.
He urged researchers to look beyond academic degrees and professional promotions and focus on how their work could address practical health needs.
The state minister observed that much of the research in Bangladesh, in his experience, was conducted for professional promotion.
However, he noted that such research could also produce valuable findings and encourage researchers to continue their work.
Sharing his own experience, he said he had spent around 25 years engaged in research, which had played a role in bringing him to his current position.
The course aims to strengthen research skills among doctors, teachers and young researchers and encourage the production of quality research and publications.
DMC Principal Professor Dr Md Mazharul Shaheen chaired the inaugural ceremony.
Director General of the Directorate General of Medical Education Professor Dr Nazmul Hossain, Sir Salimullah Medical College Principal and Bangladesh Society of Medicine convener Professor Dr Md Monir-uz-Zaman, and Dhaka Medical College Hospital Director Brigadier General AKM Farhad Hossain attended the programme.
Professor Dr Mohammad Zakaria Al-Aziz, a professor in DMC’s Department of Medicine and member secretary of the Bangladesh Society of Medicine, delivered the welcome address, while Professor Dr Md Shahabul Huda Chowdhury explained the course’s objectives.