Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2005 Oct 1;331(7519):742.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.331.7519.742.

Randomised controlled trials in Africa of HIV and AIDS: descriptive study and spatial distribution

Nandi Siegfried  1 , Mike Clarke, Jimmy Volmink
Affiliations
Review

Randomised controlled trials in Africa of HIV and AIDS: descriptive study and spatial distribution

Nandi Siegfried et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objectives: To identify and describe randomised controlled trials on HIV and AIDS conducted in Africa and to map their spatial distribution using exact geographic coordinates.

Design: Construction and analysis of a database of trials conducted wholly or partly in Africa and reported before 2004.

Data sources: CENTRAL, Medline, Embase, and LILACS.

Results: Our comprehensive search yielded 284 distinct records that were potentially eligible for inclusion in the database. Of these, 150 articles reported on 77 eligible trials published or reported from 1987 to 2003. Seven trials were identified exclusively from the CENTRAL database. Trials were conducted in 18 of 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. None were conducted in north Africa. Only 19 had a principal investigator located in an African country. Forty two trials assessed prevention and 35 assessed treatment. Most studies were funded by government agencies outside Africa (n = 43), with the pharmaceutical industry providing partial support to 16 of these. The pharmaceutical industry provided full or partial support to a further 18 trials. Only 43 trials reported conducting a power calculation for determining sample size. There was no mention of ethical approval or informed consent in 19 and 17 trials, respectively.

Conclusion: The relatively small number of HIV/AIDS trials conducted in Africa is not commensurate with the burden of disease. Geographical mapping as an adjunct to prospective trial registration is a useful tool for researchers and decision makers to track existing and future trials.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Inclusion of trials in database
Fig 2
Fig 2
Randomised controlled trials of prevention of HIV and AIDS, 1987-2003. Circles indicate site of trial based on geographic coordinates. N=42 (some trials have more than one country location)
Fig 3
Fig 3
Randomised controlled trials of treatment of HIV and AIDS, 1987-2003. Circles indicate site of trial based on geographic coordinates. N=33 (coordinates were not available for two trials)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Schulz KF, Grimes DA. Generation of allocation sequences in randomised trials: chance, not choice. Lancet 2002;359: 515-9. - PubMed
    1. UNAIDS. 2004 report on the global AIDS epidemic. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 2004.
    1. Gonzalez-Block MA. Health policy and systems research agendas in developing countries. Health Res Policy Syst 2004;2: 6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fraser D. Overlooked opportunities for investing in health research and development. Bull World Health Organ 2000;78: 1054-61. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dickersin K, Scherer R, Lefebvre C. Identifying relevant studies for systematic reviews. BMJ 1994;309: 1286-91. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms