Factors of interest of general practitioners in scientific research in first-level care centers in Bolivia

Introduction: Publication, as part of scientific and academic communication, is a key element of the ethical and moral obligation of every researcher. Our study addresses the factors of interest that general practitioners have in scientific research in first-level public health care centers in the municipality of El Alto.Objective: Determine the factors of interest that general practitioners have in scientific research in first-level public health care centers in the municipality of El Alto, department of La Paz, Bolivia.Methods: It is a qualitative, descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional study, under a non-experimental design. The universe consisted of 3,520 general practitioners in the department of La Paz, 103 general practitioners agreed to participate as a sample of the research, and who met inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results and discussion: 68% of the doctors are between 31 and 40 years old. 46.6% graduated from a university abroad, however it had no impact on the research process. 62.1% of all doctors have an academic degree at the bachelor's level. The majority of doctors after graduating do not continue with higher professional training studies. 80.6% did not publish scientific articles. 41.7% indicate that they do not carry out scientific research because there is no institutional support.Conclusions: The majority of doctors who participated in our study are relatively young – adults. Regardless of the school they graduate from, it has no impact on the research processes. Their academic degree is a bachelor's degree, followed by diplomas and none with a doctorate. After graduating, they do not continue with higher or postgraduate studies. The vast majority of doctors do not publish any research articles. Based on these results, it is necessary to implement strategies that encourage the development of research in general practitioners at the first level of care.