A systematic mapping of funders of maternal health intervention research 2000-2012

Abstract

BackgroundThe priorities of research funding bodies govern the research agenda, which has important implications for the provision of evidence to inform policy. This study examines the research funding landscape for maternal health interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).MethodsThis review draws on a database of 2340 academic papers collected through a large-scale systematic mapping of research on maternal health interventions in LMICs published from 2000–2012. The names of funders acknowledged on each paper were extracted and categorised into groups. It was noted whether support took a specific form, such as staff fellowships or drugs. Variations between funder types across regions and topics of research were assessed.ResultsFunding sources were only reported in 1572 (67%) of articles reviewed. A high number of different funders (685) were acknowledged, but only a few dominated funding of published research. Bilateral funders, national research agencies and private foundations were most prominent, while private companies were most commonly acknowledged for support ‘in kind’. The intervention topics and geographic regions of research funded by the various funder types had much in common, with HIV being the most common topic and sub-Saharan Africa being the most common region for all types of funder. Publication outputs rose substantially for several funder types over the period, with the largest increase among bilateral funders.ConclusionsA considerable number of organisations provide funding for maternal health research, but a handful account for most funding acknowledgements. Broadly speaking, these organisations address similar topics and regions. This suggests little coordination between funding agencies, risking duplication and neglect of some areas of maternal health research, and limiting the ability of organisations to develop the specialised skills required for systematically addressing a research topic. Greater transparency in reporting of funding is required, as the role of funders in the research process is often unclear.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12992-014-0072-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Mapping the use of research to support strategies tackling maternal and child health inequities: evidence from six countries in Africa and Latin America

“…In the best scenario, these criteria should also respond to the health needs in each country [ 28 ]. A wider discussion on how MCH research is financed is presented by Footman et al [ 29 ].…”

Local and foreign authorship of maternal health interventional research in low- and middle-income countries: systematic mapping of publications 2000–2012

“…Individual funders were categorised into one of ten funder types, using a classification adapted from previous studies tracking official development assistance [ 17 , 23 ]. To identify changes over time, annual rates of publications (n papers/year) were calculated for three time periods (2000–2003, 2004–2007 and 2008–2012).…”

“…Mapping allows for a more comprehensive assessment than is done in classic bibliometric studies, which only summarise the data fields contained within databases such as Medline. The field of interventional research in maternal health was investigated given the continued high levels of maternal mortality in LMICs and the funding constraints for research on this topic [ 16 , 17 ].…”

Perspectives on the methods of a large systematic mapping of maternal health interventions

“…One researcher noted that: ” The ratio between time on coding and time on analysis was always going to be a challenge given the time needed for coding.” Of note, one article was led by a doctoral student [19], working closely with a few members of the team. A more planned and structured approach to capacity building might have raised participation in article writing.…”

“…A systematic mapping of a body of literature explicitly sets out to examine the studies done on a topic or research area, as a means of describing a broad research field [ 1 ]. Naturally, the focus and extent of a mapping of literature varies with its aims, but can include the syntheses of research findings on particular topics, or of research methodologies, study settings, or even of characteristics such as authorship and funding of specific research fields [ 2 ]. Mapping studies use data extracted from full text publications or bibliometric methodology [ 3 ], to systematically identify and summarise a body of literature.…”