Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are communicable diseases that prevail in 149 tropical and subtropical countries (1). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NTDs affect more than one billion people and cost billions of dollars to developing economies every year (2).
Objectives: to assess the time interval for updating Cochrane systematic reviews (SRs) about neglected tropical diseases.
Methods: we ran a sensitive search in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR). Three researchers (NDH, AR, and FOL) independently screened and evaluated all records retrieved to confirm their eligibility.
Results: from 466 records retrieved, we included five SRs. None of them had been updated within two years of the previous publication.
Conclusions: we concluded that none of the five Cochrane SRs about neglected tropical diseases had been updated within a period of two years from the last publication.
Patient or healthcare consumer involvement: neglected diseases, despite being such burdens especially in less-developed countries, are not recognized by industries, governments, and health organizations as they should be. In order to provide evidence-based healthcare, it is urgent to raise agents involved in research interested in those diseases.
References:
1. https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/summary/en/
2. https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/Adoption_additional_NTDs.pdf?ua=1
Objectives: to assess the time interval for updating Cochrane systematic reviews (SRs) about neglected tropical diseases.
Methods: we ran a sensitive search in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR). Three researchers (NDH, AR, and FOL) independently screened and evaluated all records retrieved to confirm their eligibility.
Results: from 466 records retrieved, we included five SRs. None of them had been updated within two years of the previous publication.
Conclusions: we concluded that none of the five Cochrane SRs about neglected tropical diseases had been updated within a period of two years from the last publication.
Patient or healthcare consumer involvement: neglected diseases, despite being such burdens especially in less-developed countries, are not recognized by industries, governments, and health organizations as they should be. In order to provide evidence-based healthcare, it is urgent to raise agents involved in research interested in those diseases.
References:
1. https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/summary/en/
2. https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/Adoption_additional_NTDs.pdf?ua=1
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