Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-1, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 429 Participation of Health Colleges’ Students in Research at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Mohamed O. Nour 1,4 *, Hatim A. Natto 1 , Bara’ah S. Faden 1 , Nizar A. Almghrabi 2 , Abeer A. Alqurashi 1 , Aziza A. Alaiafi 1 , Amani M. Al- sahli 1 , Manar S. Al-nadwi 1 , Omar M. Alyazedi 3 , Abdulrahman O. Mansour 2 , Omar M. Alsaati 2 , Omniah M. Sinan 1 , Kamilia R. Serdar 1 , Aqeel T. Alkhiri 2 1 Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, KSA. 2 Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, KSA. 3 Faculty of Health Sciences at Al-Gunfudah, Umm Al-Qura University, KSA. 4 Department of Community and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Al- Azhar University, Damietta branch, Egypt. Abstract: The rapid changes in health sciences compel all health workers to understand and use scientific principles and methods. Health research training for the Health Colleges’ students is therefore, an important part of University education. We aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) towards research among Health Colleges’ students at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) and to explore barriers that impede their participation in research activities during their academic studies. A cross sectional study was conducted from January to June 2016, targeting students enrolled in the last two years of their Health Colleges at UQU. Multistage stratified sampling was used and a self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The response rate was about 83%. Results showed that only 10.8 % of participants had good knowledge, 13.8 % had favorable attitude and 7.6 % adopted good practices about research. Only 6.6% had publications and 12.8% had presented papers in scientific conferences. Further, about 70% agreed that they encountered certain barriers in pursuing research during their academic studies mainly lack of financial support (80.5%), inadequate resources (76.2%) and lack of time (73%). In conclusion, Health Colleges' students at UQU showed a relatively poor KAP towards research. This is a cause for much concern. High percentage of respondents agreed that they encountered different barriers to conduct research. Consequently, a well- developed program is needed to improve their approach for research including initiatives to develop new research and encouraging students to take part in research initiated by academics and others. Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, practices, research, Health Colleges' students. 1. Introduction The continuing development in health related issues oblige health workers to keep updated with the latest developments by gaining knowledge and using scientific principles and methods. [1] Health research is important to any community in order to address its local health problems and needs, to develop and enhance public health services, as well as to achieve independence from other communities or to compete with them. [2] Training and participation in health research activities have been integrated in modern undergraduate education and is considered a valuable measure of scientific progress. [3] With adequate knowledge of research methodology, students of the health field are more likely to read and understand research that should be a goal for all undergraduate Health Colleges’ students. [4] There is, as yet, no strong culture of research among undergraduate students. Their active participation in research activity will allow them to gain research skills such as literature reviewing, collecting and analyzing data, critical appraisal of evidence, paper writing and also to achieve profession in academic work and maintaining a research-facilitating environment thus improving quality of patient’s care. [5, 6] Hence, adequate level of knowledge and reasoning skills and development of a positive attitude are crucial to carrying out research. [7] Many studies, world-wide, have tried to investigate KAP of undergraduate students toward health research and define barriers and motives. [8,