Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: The Cochrane Library (CL) aims to be a worldwide collaboration that helps people make well-informed decisions about health care. Infectious diseases account for 26% of total global mortality. Deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections alone are responsible for approximately 78% of the total infectious disease burden. Ten leading risk factors in terms of the burden of disease are: underweight; unsafe sex; high blood pressure; tobacco consumption; alcohol consumption; unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene; iron deficiency; indoor smoke from solid fuels; high cholesterol; and obesity.
Objectives: To identify changes in the numbers of reviews on topics relevant to people living in the developing world. To apply a checklist on some reviews on involvement of people and primary research from the developing world.
Methods: CL issue 2, 2003 and issue 2, 2005 was searched to identify reviews and report changes on topics relevant to people living in the developing world. We picked five Cochrane Reviews on topics 'on the rise' in the developing world. We applied a checklist addressing: country of origin, proportion of primary research papers from developing countries, proportion of all papers that included any information on ethnicity, proportion of participants from non-white groups, any specific mention made of developing world context (clinical, public health, culture, implementing).
Results: Less than seven percent (6.1%) of systematic reviews in June 2003 were of special relevance to people with conditions as tropical diseases. The search in June 2005 will be added later. In reviews covering topics high on the list of the global burden of diseases (i.e. tobacco, unsafe sex), we found that they to very little extent include primary research from developing countries. Some of the reviewers mentioned specially the difficulty of implementing results when there is lack of studies done in the developing world.
Conclusion: Even though most of the burden of disease occurs in developing countries, only a small proportion of Cochrane reviews focus on tropical diseases or on aspects of diseases that are of specific relevance to developing countries. We recommend that positive efforts are made by Cochrane Review Groups to redress these biases.
Objectives: To identify changes in the numbers of reviews on topics relevant to people living in the developing world. To apply a checklist on some reviews on involvement of people and primary research from the developing world.
Methods: CL issue 2, 2003 and issue 2, 2005 was searched to identify reviews and report changes on topics relevant to people living in the developing world. We picked five Cochrane Reviews on topics 'on the rise' in the developing world. We applied a checklist addressing: country of origin, proportion of primary research papers from developing countries, proportion of all papers that included any information on ethnicity, proportion of participants from non-white groups, any specific mention made of developing world context (clinical, public health, culture, implementing).
Results: Less than seven percent (6.1%) of systematic reviews in June 2003 were of special relevance to people with conditions as tropical diseases. The search in June 2005 will be added later. In reviews covering topics high on the list of the global burden of diseases (i.e. tobacco, unsafe sex), we found that they to very little extent include primary research from developing countries. Some of the reviewers mentioned specially the difficulty of implementing results when there is lack of studies done in the developing world.
Conclusion: Even though most of the burden of disease occurs in developing countries, only a small proportion of Cochrane reviews focus on tropical diseases or on aspects of diseases that are of specific relevance to developing countries. We recommend that positive efforts are made by Cochrane Review Groups to redress these biases.