My experience at The 4th UW/KKU/TU International Workshop on Clinical Research Methods in Oral Health
- Name
- Yuka MAKINO
The 4th UW/KKU/TU International Workshop on Clinical Research Methods in Oral Health was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from February 20 to 24, 2012. I had the great opportunity to attend this workshop, and would like to share the experiences I had at this course.
The objective of this course was for attendees to obtain basic knowledge for clinical research, and to apply that knowledge to their own clinical research in the future. This workshop consisted of two parts: lectures and group discussions. In morning sessions, attendees attended lectures on topics including Evidence-based Dentistry, Behavioral Research in Dentistry, Randomized Clinical Trials, Ethical Issues and Biostatistics from highly experienced instructors. In the afternoon, group discussions were held in order to produce study plans, according to knowledge acquired during the morning sessions. On the final day, each group presented their research plans.
Before this workshop, I had planned my own study protocol, and faced several challenges such as how to design my research, especially when calculating sample sizes, and how to handle ethical issues if research was implemented abroad. Thanks to this workshop, I could answer these questions, and obtain useful information for developing my future research. In addition, recently, I have read articles relating to the relationship between periodontal disease and pregnant women. Depending on the article, results were different. I wondered which results were more reliable. Prof. Hujoel in Washington University, who gave the Evidence-based Dentistry lecture, mentioned that “80 % of research results are false. It is extremely difficult to find the 20% that is valid.” (I was a little bit surprised by that.) However, he taught us about levels of evidence which is useful knowledge for evaluating the reliability of research. Thus, I will always consider this point when I read papers hereafter.
Actually, understanding lectures provided solely in English was very difficult for me. Additionally, in the group workshops, I could not participate in the discussion as well as I could have liked, because of a lack of knowledge and presentation skills. I felt a deep need to brush up my knowledge and acquire the skills necessary to present my ideas. Otherwise, I cannot be an equal participant in discussions and negotiations in the future. Indeed, during this workshop, I regretted my shortcomings. On the other hand, after the workshop, I could enjoy Chiang Mai cuisine and the night market every night. Furthermore, out of class, each attendee communicated so frankly that we could exchange information with each other and become better acquainted.
I really appreciate Niigata University, Washington University, Khon Kaen University, Thammasat University and Fogarty International Center, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIDCR) for providing me with such a wonderful opportunity.
