Opinions and knowledge of medical practitioners towards stem cell research in Botswana

The understanding of the knowledge and opinions of medical practitioners regarding stem cell research is very important to the initiation of stem cell research. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and opinions of medical practitioners in two referral public hospitals of Botswana in Gaborone and Francistown towards stem cell research. A survey was administered to 200 medical practitioners that were randomly sampled across the two hospitals. The opinions of the practitioners on the introduction of stem cell research in Botswana were established. This research study was undertaken because stem cell research is new in Botswana and very little is known about this area and the benefits it can bring. Because stem cell research is concerned with the alleviation of different diseases, the views and opinions of medical practitioners are crucial to not only the establishment of the research, but to the safe dissemination of accurate and adequate information to their patients and other citizens. The findings of this study will help in the establishment of stem cell research in Botswana which can help tackle some of the diseases facing the country while at the same time saving government money that is spent of national health care provision. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The Chi-square test for association was used to investigate some important factors associated with knowledge of stem cell research. A significant association between years in practice and having heard of embryonic stem cells (p-value = 0.043) was observed. There was an association between the ages of respondents and two knowledge items; attendance of scientific activities related to stem cells outside the curriculum (p-value = 0.015) and having heard of embryonic stem cells (p-value = 0.046). The findings of this study revealed that, generally, medical practitioners have positive knowledge about stem cell research. Findings of this study will guide future initiation of stem cell research in Botswana. In conclusion, the use of stem cells is acceptable to medical practitioners in Botswana.