Factors and Challenges Affecting the Research Output of Medical Students: A Mixed-Methods Study

Despite the curricular integration of research training in undergraduate medical education, student research publications remain limited. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with the publication of student research and explore the challenges faced by students, supervisors, and research personnel at the Faculty of Medicine-Jeddah (COM-J), King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Saudi Arabia.

A concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design was used. Quantitative data were collected from 187 student research proposals, 778 student curriculum vitae (CVs), and 87 supervisor CVs over four academic years (2017-2021). Variables including student gender, research experience, supervisor background, and project design were analyzed using JMP (SAS Institute Inc. Cary, NC, USA). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 students, 10 supervisors, and 5 Research Unit (RU) personnel to explore perceived barriers to publication.

Only 40 (21.4%) of 187 student research projects achieved peer-reviewed publications, with an annual average publication rate of approximately 5.4%. No statistically significant associations were found between publication status and student gender (p = 0.72) or prior research experience (p = 0.58). Students with prior research experience had slightly higher, though non-significant, publication rates (25% vs. 20.6%). Male students published marginally faster than female students (e.g. at the R1 level, 2.8 years vs. 3.3 years). Interns had the highest publication rate (11.2%), followed by sixth-year students (10.1%). Supervisors with strong publication profiles were associated with higher student publication rates (up to 57.5% among prolific supervisors). Qualitative findings from 30 interviews revealed barriers including time constraints (students: 80%; supervisors: 60%), lack of motivation (students: 55%; supervisors: 90%), and insufficient research skills (students: 50%; supervisors: 85%). Key themes included inadequate mentorship quality, limited early research exposure, skill-building gaps, and insufficient post-project support.

The 21.4% publication rate among medical student research projects at COM-J reflects systemic challenges related to time constraints, mentorship availability, and institutional support. Addressing these barriers through specific interventions-including mandatory protected research time for faculty, credit-based incentive systems for research mentorship, and structured post-block publication support-may enhance student research productivity. Future multi-institutional and longitudinal studies are needed to validate these findings and evaluate the effectiveness of targeted mentorship models.