Effects of Laboratory Animal Science Training onScientists’ Attitudes and Practice in Egypt

摘要

The implementation of principles and guidelines that govern the various areas of research in an educational institution isone of the key factors in international recognition of its research integrity and value.The privilege of conducting researchusing animal subjects requires adherence to international regulations and standards governing the humane care and use oflaboratory animals.The IACUC at our university deemed it critical to have an animal care and use training program to raiseresearchers/ understanding and knowledge.Our IACUC recently designed a training program in the principles of laboratoryanimal science and the ethical issues involved in animal use.The present study aimed to measure the effect of such trainingon scientists' attitudes and practice.During 4 successive training courses,the participants (n = 100;72% women and 28% men)were surveyed twice through self-administered questionnaire— before starting and after completing the course.Questionsfocused on ethical consideration for care and use of animals in research,ethical committees,international guidelines forhumane care of animals,and 3Rs concepts and their interpretation.The results revealed that the scientists^ knowledge andawareness increased effectively after the completion of the training courses.They understood the 3Rs concepts of replacement,reduction,and refinement;recognized the importance of standardization of animal handling on scientific results;andwere able to distinguish between different ethical committees and their roles.Overall,training leads to standardization ofanimal care and use practices that are vital for the reproducibility of results fundamental to quality scientific research.