Collection provides tools to improve clinical research in Africa and Asia

Quality assurance of clinical research is critical to ensure meaningful results in compliance with universal ethical standards. Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) codes have been developed as tools to ensure data integrity and ethical study conduct. However, these codes are often considered beyond reach for resource constrained settings. A recently published collection in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases shares experiences, lessons learned and practical tools developed during clinical research on neglected tropical diseases in Africa and Asia.

The Good Clinical Practice collection was published as part of a collaborative project sponsored by the NIDIAG Consortium, a European research network and organized by Dr. Marleen Boelaert of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium. The collection features seven articles covering a range of topics relevant to treating neglected tropical diseases (NTDS) in clinical settings including designing, setting up, implementing, and evaluating clinical studies.

The articles in the collection address many of the challenges specific to NTDs research, as well as infrastructure, culture, social-ecological systems, conflicting health policies, and ethics requirements. The articles propose solutions, provide guidelines and best practices, as well as resources for developing and implementing standard operating procedures for conducting clinical research in low resource settings.

Approximately 1.2 billion people are affected by NTDs globally, particularly among impoverished populations and in conflict zones. Moreover, NTDs can hinder economic productivity and diminish quality of life. One of the major obstacles in the clinical management of NTDs is the lack of robust health services in disease endemic countries. However, NIDIAG Consortium member and author Marleen Boelaert is hopeful that "this article collection will stimulate others working on clinical-diagnostic issues of NTDs to further improve patient management and population-based control and elimination."