Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitudes of Medical Residents Towards Nanomedicine: Defining the Gap

Even though the general public opinion towards nanotechnology applications to health has been studied, medical residents' opinions remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perception, knowledge, and attitude of medical residents towards nanomedicine using a 35-item questionnaire. Correlations between intrinsic factors, heuristics, and attitude towards nanomedicine were analyzed using the chi (2) test. Seventy medical residents participated. Nanomedicine was perceived as a developing field in its clinical trial stages. Responsibility for nanomedicine was attributed to scientists, whereas its ethical responsibility to physicians. The majority reported not having adequate access to information. A positive attitude towards nanomedicine was correlated with higher willingness to use nanomedicine to diagnose and treat patients (p<0.05). Medical residents had a positive attitude towards nanomedicine. However, they lacked accurate knowledge in the field. Participants might have relied on availability heuristics to form their opinion. Formal education for the "handlers" of nanomedicine seems to be needed.