title: Less research on tuberculosis than HIV and malaria when research agendas are poorly coordinated: a systematic review of research outputs from Cambodia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Coordination of health interventions and research is often weak during periods of political transition and unprecedented aid inflows, which Cambodia has recently experienced. Although HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria have been a focus of international funding, TB has received much less. This study compares the numbers and methodologies of studies conducted on TB, malaria, and HIV in Cambodia, identifying evidence gaps and future research needs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three electronic databases and the grey literature were searched for studies on HIV, TB, and malaria published between January 2000 and October 2015. Information about the disease focus and methodology was extracted from the studies included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2581 unique studies were screened and 712 were included in the analysis. The results of this review demonstrated that despite increasing numbers of publications, there have been fewer studies on TB (16%) than HIV (43%) and malaria (41%). Observational epidemiological studies outnumbered other methodologies (44%) for all three diseases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite substantial investments, important research areas appear to have been neglected in Cambodia; specifically, studies on TB and studies involving economic, qualitative, interventional, and genomics methods. The inter-disease disparity in published research in Cambodia identified, considered alongside disease burden, suggests that an increase in TB research may be needed to inform control strategies.
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, London WC1E 7HT, UK; Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: Mishal.Khan@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Mishal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, London WC1E 7HT, UK; Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Neisha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sundaram
authors.affiliation: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Shishi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Mao Tang
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Eang
authors.affiliation: University of Health Science, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs (NCHADS), Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Saphonn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vonthanak
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, London WC1E 7HT, UK; Mahidol University, Ratchathewi District, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coker
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D002160:Cambodia; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000191:economics*; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000191:economics*
keywords: Funding; HIV; Malaria; Policy; Review; Tuberculosis