title: Data management and other logistical challenges for the GEMS: the data coordinating center perspective.
abstract: The Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center provided the data management, administrative, and statistical support to the Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS). The GEMS study, the largest epidemiological study in the diarrheal disease area among children <5 years of age, was carried out in 4 African countries and 3 Asian countries. Given the geographical and geopolitical differences among the countries, the administration of a centralized data management operation was a major challenge. The sheer volume of the data that were collected, regular transfer of the data to a centralized database, and the cleaning of the same also posed some challenges. This paper outlines the details of the support that the data coordinating center provided and the challenges faced during the course of the study.
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, PO Box 1010, Perry Point, MD 21902, USA. kousick.biswas@va.gov
authors.forename: Kousick
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carty
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Horney
authors.forename: Dilruba
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nasrin
authors.forename: Tamer H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Farag
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kotloff
authors.forename: Myron M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003628:Database Management Systems; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000379:methods*