title: Better prioritization to increase research value and decrease waste.
abstract: In a recent study published in BMC Medicine, Singh Ospina and colleagues outlined the important gaps between ongoing research and research needs in the field of endocrinology. Many recommendations from clinical practice guidelines are based on a low level of evidence, thereby resulting in research gaps. Despite the publication of around 25,000 randomized controlled trials each year, ongoing research does not cover most of these gaps. In contrast, trials are planned when sufficient data are already available for decision making, which results in redundant research and exposes patients to unnecessary risks. This lack of prioritization contributes to the enormous problem of waste in research. A systematic approach to accumulate the available body of evidence is necessary to determine when we have sufficient evidence and when we have knowledge gaps, defined as research questions with no or a low level of evidence available. Systematic registration of research gaps and their prioritization may help to organize future research. Some initiatives exist, but they need to be generalized.Please see related research: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/13/187.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche Epidémiologie et Statistique, INSERM U1153, Paris, France. agnes.dechartres@htd.aphp.fr.|Centre d'Epidémiologie Clinique, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 1 place du Parvis Notre Dame, 75004, Paris, France. agnes.dechartres@htd.aphp.fr.|Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France. agnes.dechartres@htd.aphp.fr.|French Cochrane Centre, Paris, France. agnes.dechartres@htd.aphp.fr.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dechartres
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche Epidémiologie et Statistique, INSERM U1153, Paris, France.|Centre d'Epidémiologie Clinique, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 1 place du Parvis Notre Dame, 75004, Paris, France.|Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.|French Cochrane Centre, Paris, France.|Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ravaud
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012107:Research Design