Evidence map›Paper›PMID 16245996›Full record

ArticleAfrican health sciences2005

Crossing the digital divide: the contribution of information technology to the professional performance of malaria researchers in Africa.

Julia Royall, Ingeborg van Schayk, Mark Bennett, Nancy Kamau, Martin Alilio

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in African health sciences, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Julia RoyallNational Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA. jroyall@nlm.nih.gov
Ingeborg van Schayk
Mark Bennett
Nancy Kamau
Martin Alilio

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe US National Library of Medicine supports the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) through the design, implementation, and operation of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Communications Network (MIMCom.) MIMCom makes possible enhanced access to the Internet and to medical literature.

objectivesThe main objectives of the present study were to examine the use of MIMCom supported information technology (IT) by scientists, students, and administrative personnel to facilitate communication, retrieve information, obtain documents, write proposals, and prepare papers for publication; and to determine the contribution of this intervention to their professional performance.

methodsThe authors analyzed the contribution of enhanced Internet connectivity and access to electronic information resources to the performance of malaria research staff and their institutes through a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 181 respondents at 14 health research centers in Africa. Separate reviews of bandwidth usage, requests for document delivery, and publications in peer reviewed journals support the data of the survey.

resultsThe MIMCom network makes a positive contribution to the performance of malaria researchers and support staff at the sites reviewed by improving e-mail exchange, access to published literature, and research proposal development and submission. Implications of these findings are discussed.

conclusionBy providing full access to the Internet and the resources of the WorldWide Web, MIMCom has been shown to be invaluable to malaria researchers and their institutes in Africa. This access has increased visibility of scientists in their respective institutions and provided opportunities for stronger engagement with the international scientific community.

Indexed as

Access to InformationMalariaAfricaCross-Sectional StudiesHumansInternetResearch PersonnelRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID16245996
PMCPMC1831932

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

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.