Public perception of participating in non-governmental funding of medical research in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The advancement of research in the medical field is largely dependent on the availability of sufficient and continuous funding. In Saudi Arabia, governmental funding is the major source of financial support to research. Non-governmental alternatives of research funding in developed countries comes from other sources, such as charitable medical research foundations based on the donations of the public. In this work, the opinion of 279 random sample for all areas of Saudi Arabia was explored. Firstly, we identified the lack of such funding bodies and considered the public readiness and understanding of this issue. As it was evident, the opinions of participants in this study was highly favorable. It was found that the general appreciation of the community regarding medical research was high. Awareness of the importance of medical research and willingness to contribute to it was high. However, 91% of participants in this study did not know any charitable foundation which supports medical research but 94.6% were eager to participate in fundraising activities. The community was aware that funding of medical research is important but 70.4% believed this can be done by increasing governmental support of medical research. </span><span>It is recommended therefore to establish regular public campaigns to raise awareness towards the funding of medical research. Establishment of non-governmental alternative medical research funding entities is important transforming the field of medical research in Saudi Arabia.