ArticlePloS one2011
Geographical representativeness of published and ongoing randomized controlled trials. The example of: Tobacco consumption and HIV infection.
Article in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 4 of them syntheses 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Equity in clinical trials for HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis: A systematic review of global representation and inclusion of patients and researchers.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Pooled it
- Implementing lung health interventions in low- and middle-income countries: a FRESH AIR systematic review and meta-synthesis.The European respiratory journal · 2020Pooled it
- Barriers for conducting clinical trials in developing countries- a systematic review.International journal for equity in health · 2018Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The IHAT-GUT Iron Supplementation Trial in Rural Gambia: Barriers, Facilitators, and Benefits.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Awareness, Willingness, and Concerns about Clinical Trial Participation among Iraqi Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.Global heart · 2026Article
- Bridging the Gap: The State of Global Transplant Research Collaboration.Transplantation direct · 2025Article
- Ethical Issues in Conducting Cross-Cultural Research in Low-Income Countries: A Pakistani Perspective.Asian bioethics review · 2022Article
- Decolonising global health: transnational research partnerships under the spotlight.International health · 2020Review
- Automatic classification of registered clinical trials towards the Global Burden of Diseases taxonomy of diseases and injuries.BMC bioinformatics · 2016Article
- FRESH AIR: an implementation research project funded through Horizon 2020 exploring the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of chronic respiratory diseases in low-resource settings.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe challenge for evidence-based healthcare is to reduce mortality and the burden of diseases. This study aimed to compare where research is conducted to where research is needed for 2 public health priorities: tobacco consumption and HIV infection.
methodsWe identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) included in Cochrane systematic reviews published between 1997 and 2007 and registered ongoing RCTs identified in January 2009 through the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP) evaluating interventions aimed at reducing or stopping tobacco use and treating or preventing HIV infection. We used the WHO and World Bank reports to classify the countries by income level, as well as map the global burden of disease and mortality attributable to tobacco use and HIV infection to the countries where the trials performed.
resultsWe evaluated 740 RCTs included in systematic reviews and 346 ongoing RCTs. For tobacco use, 4% of RCTs included in systematic reviews and 2% of ongoing trials were performed in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries represented 70% of the mortality related to tobacco use. For HIV infection, 31% of RCTs included in systematic reviews and 33% of ongoing trials were performed in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries represented 99% of the mortality related to HIV infection.
conclusionsOur results highlight an important underrepresentation of low- and middle-income countries in currently available evidence (RCTs included in systematic reviews) and awaiting evidence (registered ongoing RCTs) for reducing or stopping tobacco use and treating or preventing HIV infection.
Indexed as
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.