PUBLISH OR PERISH - HOW IS PHARMACY RESEARCH COPING IN A CHANGING SOUTH-AFRICA

Taking into account the needs of a changed South Africa, this study wa s conducted to evaluate the activity, of pharmacy research in the coun try. Research output from academic institutions in South Africa was co mpared to the rest of Africa, the United States, Australia and Europe. This was done by surveying research outputs as cited in two scientifi c databases, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and the Science Ci tation Index. The attitude towards research at a major faculty of phar macy in South Africa was also tested using an adapted Motivated Strate gies of learning Questionnaire. Research in pharmacy disciplines in So uth Africa was found to be strong, and has been so since 1970, if one considers the size of the country and the numbers involved in research . A trend seen world-wide over the last five years is for pharmacy res earch to become orientated more towards problem solving especially in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry In South Africa, two of the smaller pharmacy schools seem to have adapted better to this stra tegy. This led to a marked increase in their research output.