Establishing a special mechanism which aims to promote the whole level of study quality of clinical medicine in China

Article type
Authors
Wu T, Li Y
Abstract
Considerations:

- Most of Chinese clinical studies published were of poor quality. The Clinical Trials Register system provides a control mechanism to control the study design quality and aids study verification;

- Medical journals bearing the responsibility of reflecting the research situation, also, sometimes, guide the development of research;

- However, the effect will be very limited if the effort is to be done by trial register or journal individually, particularly in the situation that most of the potential authors of medical articles have poor knowledge about performing a good clinical trial in China.

- A strategy should be made on the basis of promoting the whole level of quality of most or all of the potential medical article authors, thus, of national medical research. Thus, a special mechanism for this purpose with appropriate goals should be constructed.


Counter measures:

- We are constructing a mechanism of Chinese Cochrane Center/Chinese Evidence-Based Medicine Center -- Clinical Trials Register -- Chinese Medical Journals Collaboration;

- We initiated organising the Chinese Medical Journal Editors' Committee (CMJEC) and 65 medical journals have joined the Committee;

- Last year, we established the Chinese Clinical Trials Register (ChiCTR, website: www.chictr.org).


How does the mechanism work?:

- CMJEC harmonise the action of the member journals including performing same reporting standards, publishing registered articles;

- ChiCTR provide services including registration for studies, critically identifying and sorting the study type of submitted papers required by journals that are going to be published. Thus, the articles will be named with a proper study type to be published and the readers can use the evidence correctly;

- Chinese Cochrane Center (ChiCC)/Chinese Evidence-Based Medicine Center (ChiEBMC) are the base for technical support for ChiCTR. ChiCC and ChiEBMC are the methodology training resource and the leaders in the field in China;

- Communicating with the Chinese government (Ministry of Health) for taking support from central government.