ArticleHealth research policy and systems2003
Assessing capacity for health policy and systems research in low and middle income countries*
Article in Health research policy and systems, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors and chronic kidney disease: a bibliometric analysis of top-cited publications from 2011 to 2020.BMC nephrology · 2022Pooled it
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- Distribution, Risk Factors and Epidemiological Trends of Pancreatic Cancer Across Countries' Income Levels: A Comprehensive Analysis.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Analysis of funding landscape for health policy and systems research in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: A scoping review of the literature over the past decade.Health research policy and systems · 2024Article
- Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the ethics in medical research among Moroccan interns and resident physicians.BMC medical ethics · 2024Article
- Institutional roles, structures, funding and research partnerships towards evidence-informed policy-making: a multisector survey among policy-makers in Nigeria.Health research policy and systems · 2023Article
- What funders are doing to assess the impact of their investments in health and biomedical research.Health research policy and systems · 2022Review
- Review
- Strengthening capacities and resource allocation for co-production of health research in low and middle income countries.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Article
- Health research capacity of professional and technical personnel in a first-class tertiary hospital in northwest China: multilevel repeated measurement, 2013-2017, a pilot study.Health research policy and systems · 2020Article
- Biomedical research in developing countries: Opportunities, methods, and challenges.Indian journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology · 2020Review
- Review of published evidence on knowledge translation capacity, practice and support among researchers and research institutions in low- and middle-income countries.Health research policy and systems · 2020Review
- Integrating evidence from research into decision-making for controlling endemic tropical diseases in South East Nigeria: perceptions of producers and users of evidence on barriers and solutions.Health research policy and systems · 2020Article
- Article
- Health care workers in conflict and post-conflict settings: Systematic mapping of the evidence.PloS one · 2020Article
- Article
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- Cancer Control in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Is It Time to Consider Screening?Journal of global oncology · 2019Review
- Assessing policy-makers', academics' and experts' satisfaction with the performance of the Palestinian health research system: a qualitative study.Health research policy and systems · 2018Article
- Understanding the concept and importance of the health research system in Palestine: a qualitative study.Health research policy and systems · 2018Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs demand grows for health policies based on evidence, questions exist as to the capacity of developing countries to produce the health policy and systems research (HPSR) required to meet this challenge.
methodsA postal/web survey of 176 HPSR producer institutions in developing countries assessed institutional structure, capacity, critical mass, knowledge production processes and stakeholder engagement. Data were projected to an estimated population of 649 institutions.
resultsHPSR producers are mostly small public institutions/units with an average of 3 projects, 8 researchers and a project portfolio worth $155,226. Experience, attainment of critical mass and stakeholder engagement are low, with only 19% of researchers at PhD level, although researchers in key disciplines are well represented and better qualified. Research capacity and funding are similar across income regions, although inequalities are apparent. Only 7% of projects are funded at $100,000 or more, but they account for 54% of total funding. International sources and national governments account for 69% and 26% of direct project funding, respectively. A large proportion of international funds available for HPSR in support of developing countries are either not spent or spent through developed country institutions.
conclusionsHPSR producers need to increase their capacity and critical mass to engage effectively in policy development and to absorb a larger volume of resources. The relationship between funding and critical mass needs further research to identify the best funding support, incentives and capacity strengthening approaches. Support should be provided to network institutions, concentrate resources and to attract funding.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.