-
Globalization and Health Feb 2017This commentary sums the findings of a series of papers on a study that mapped the global research agenda for maternal health. The mapping reviewed published...
Priority gaps and promising areas in maternal health research in low- and middle-income countries: summary findings of a mapping of 2292 publications between 2000 and 2012.
This commentary sums the findings of a series of papers on a study that mapped the global research agenda for maternal health. The mapping reviewed published interventional research across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2012, specifically focusing on investigating the topics covered by this research, the methodologies applied, the funding landscape and trends in authorship attribution.The overarching aim underpinning the mapping activities was to evaluate whether research and funding align with causes of maternal mortality, and thereby highlight gaps in research priorities and governance. Fifteen reviewers from 8 countries screened 35,078 titles and abstracts, and extracted data from 2292 full-text articles.Over the period reviewed, the volume of publications rose several-fold, especially from 2004 to 2007. The methodologies broadened, increasingly encompassing qualitative research and systematic review. Malaria and HIV research dominated over other topics, while sexually-transmitted infection research progressively diminished. Health systems and health promotion research increased rapidly, but were less frequently evaluated in trials or published in high-impact journals. Relative to disease burden, hypertension had double the publications of haemorrhage. Many Latin American countries, China and Russia had relatively few papers per billion US dollars Gross Domestic Product. Total LMIC lead authorships rose substantially, but only a quarter of countries had a local first author lead on >75% of their research, with levels lowest in sub-Saharan Africa. The median Impact Factor of high-income country led papers was 3.1 and LMIC-led 1.8. The NIH, USAID and Gates Foundation constituted 40% of funder acknowledgements, and addressed similar topics and countries.The commentary notes that increases in outputs and broadening of methodologies suggest research capacity has expanded considerably, allowing for more nuanced, systems-based and context-specific studies. However, funders seemingly duplicate efforts, with topics and countries either receiving excessive or little attention. Better coordinated funding might reduce duplication and allow researchers to develop highly-specialised expertise. Repeated scrutiny of research agendas and funding may foment shifts in priorities. Building leadership capacity in LMICs and reconsidering authorship guidelines is needed.
Topics: Developing Countries; Humans; Maternal Health; Publications; Research; Research Design
PubMed: 28153038
DOI: 10.1186/s12992-016-0227-z -
Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia 2019
Topics: Age Factors; Biomedical Research; Humans; Research Design; Research Personnel
PubMed: 30652763
DOI: 10.5935/0004-2749.20190006 -
Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria (Sao... Sep 2006
Topics: Humans; Psychoanalysis; Research Design
PubMed: 17063211
DOI: 10.1590/s1516-44462006000300002 -
Journal of Behavioral Medicine Dec 2011The past three decades have witnessed a surge in research on spirituality and health. This growing body of literature has linked many aspects of spirituality as well as...
The past three decades have witnessed a surge in research on spirituality and health. This growing body of literature has linked many aspects of spirituality as well as religion to both positive and negative indices of human functioning. However, studies have primarily been descriptive, focusing on identifying associations between spirituality and health, rather than explanatory, focusing on identifying mechanisms underlying observed relationships. Earlier research is also limited by failure to control for salient covariates, apply prospective design, and use sophisticated measurements with well defined and empirically-validated factors. Recent research, however, is advancing the study of spirituality and health by examining not only whether religious factors are relevant to human health, but also how spirituality may functionally impact medical and psychological wellbeing and illness. This article introduces a special issue on Spirituality and Health containing 12 full-length research reports to further this welcomed, emerging trend.
Topics: Health Status; Humans; Mental Health; Research Design; Spirituality
PubMed: 21751040
DOI: 10.1007/s10865-011-9370-4 -
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology Mar 2019To bring evidence-based improvements in medicine and health care delivery to clinical practice, health care providers must know how to interpret clinical research... (Review)
Review
To bring evidence-based improvements in medicine and health care delivery to clinical practice, health care providers must know how to interpret clinical research findings and critically evaluate the strength of evidence. This requires an understanding of differences in clinical study designs and the various statistical methods used to identify associations. We aim to provide a foundation for understanding the common measures of association used in epidemiologic studies to quantify relationships between exposures and outcomes, including relative risks, odds ratios, and hazard ratios. We also provide a framework for critically assessing clinical research findings and highlight specific methodologic concerns.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Delivery of Health Care; Education, Medical, Continuing; Epidemiologic Methods; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Models, Statistical; Quality Improvement; Research Design
PubMed: 30797315
DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2018.12.023 -
Clinical Genetics Apr 2015With the proliferation of affordable large-scale human genomic data come profound and vexing questions about management of such data and their clinical uncertainty.... (Review)
Review
With the proliferation of affordable large-scale human genomic data come profound and vexing questions about management of such data and their clinical uncertainty. These issues challenge the view that genomic research on human beings can (or should) be fully segregated from clinical genomics, either conceptually or practically. Here, we argue that the sharp distinction between clinical care and research is especially problematic in the context of large-scale genomic sequencing of people with suspected genetic conditions. Core goals of both enterprises (e.g. understanding genotype-phenotype relationships; generating an evidence base for genomic medicine) are more likely to be realized at a population scale if both those ordering and those undergoing sequencing for diagnostic reasons are routinely and longitudinally studied. Rather than relying on expensive and lengthy randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses, we propose leveraging nascent clinical-research hybrid frameworks into a broader, more permanent instantiation of exploratory medical sequencing. Such an investment could enlighten stakeholders about the real-life challenges posed by whole-genome sequencing, such as establishing the clinical actionability of genetic variants, returning 'off-target' results to families, developing effective service delivery models and monitoring long-term outcomes.
Topics: Genetics, Medical; Genome, Human; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Humans; Information Dissemination; Research Design
PubMed: 25045831
DOI: 10.1111/cge.12461 -
Chest Oct 2020
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Pandemics; Research Design; Sample Size
PubMed: 32533956
DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.05.581 -
Qualitative Health Research Jan 2017From its origins in the 1990s, the qualitative health research metasynthesis project represented a methodological maneuver to capitalize on a growing investment in...
From its origins in the 1990s, the qualitative health research metasynthesis project represented a methodological maneuver to capitalize on a growing investment in qualitatively derived study reports to create an interactive dialogue among them that would surface expanded insights about complex human phenomena. However, newer forms positioning themselves as qualitative metasynthesis but representing a much more technical and theoretically superficial form of scholarly enterprise have begun to appear in the health research literature. It seems imperative that we think through the implications of this trend and determine whether it is to be afforded the credibility of being a form of qualitative scholarship and, if so, what kind of scholarship it represents. As the standardization trend in synthesis research marches forward, we will need clarity and a strong sense of purpose if we are to preserve the essence of what the qualitative metasynthesis project was intended to be all about.
Topics: Humans; Qualitative Research; Research Design; Review Literature as Topic; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 27956657
DOI: 10.1177/1049732316679370 -
The British Journal of General Practice... May 2014
Topics: Biomedical Research; General Practice; Humans; Periodicals as Topic; Quality Improvement; Research Design; United Kingdom
PubMed: 24771808
DOI: 10.3399/bjgp14X679534 -
Journal of Medical Ethics Aug 1998
Review
Topics: Control Groups; Developed Countries; Developing Countries; Ethical Relativism; Ethics, Medical; Global Health; Humans; Internationality; Patient Advocacy; Power, Psychological; Pregnant Women; Research Design; Research Subjects; Resource Allocation; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 9752622
DOI: 10.1136/jme.24.4.221