Assessment of knowledge and attitude towards alternative to animal experimentation in research and education among interns and post graduate medical students in a teaching hospital, Tamilnadu, India

Background: Use of animals for various purposes like food, transportation, pets, sports, recreation and companionship is as old as the human beings itself. Animals also serve as a tool for education, research, medical procedures, toxicological screening, for several decades. Since pain, distress and death of animals occur commonly during scientific experiments, various guidelines have been proposed and posed many restrictions over the experimental use of animals.To assess the knowledge and attitude towards alternative to animal experimentation in research and education among interns and postgraduate medical students in a teaching hospital.Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out by self-administered questionnaire among interns (92) and postgraduate medical students (53) in a teaching hospital in July 2018. The data was analysed by descriptive statistics and expressed in percentage.Results: Among 145 participants, interns 92 (63.4%), postgraduates 53 (36.6%). 70.2% interns and 68.8% postgraduates had adequate knowledge about alternative animal experimentation and 67% and 67.1% of interns and postgraduates had knowledge about animal experiments. 69.4% interns and 68.8% postgraduates had positive attitude towards alternative animal experimentation.83.8% interns and 70.9% postgraduates were agreed to have various barriers to alternative animal experimentation.Conclusions: Majority of interns and postgraduates have appreciable knowledge of alternative to animal experimentation, but their attitude is scarce. It is imperative to incorporate continuous training through workshops for budding medical professionals to provide innovative scientific knowledge in research and education towards alternative to animal experimentation.