Global research priorities for COVID-19 in maternal, reproductive and child health: Results of an international survey

  1. Melanie Etti
  2. Jackeline Alger
  3. Sofía P. Salas
  4. Robin Saggers
  5. Tanusha Ramdin
  6. Margit Endler
  7. Kristina Gemzell-Danielsson
  8. Tobias Alfvén
  9. Yusuf Ahmed
  10. Allison Callejas
  11. Deborah Eskenazi
  12. Asma Khalil
  13. Kirsty Le Doare
  14. On behalf of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Working Group of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition

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Abstract

The World Health Organization’s “ Coordinated Global Research Roadmap : 2019 Novel Coronavirus ” outlined the need for research that focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women and children. More than one year after the first reported case significant knowledge gaps remain, highlighting the need for a coordinated approach. To address this need, the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Working Group (MNCH WG) of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition conducted an international survey to identify global research priorities for COVID-19 in maternal, reproductive and child health.

Method

This project was undertaken using a modified Delphi method. An electronic questionnaire was disseminated to clinicians and researchers in three different languages (English, French and Spanish) via MNCH WG affiliated networks. Respondents were asked to select the five most urgent research priorities among a list of 17 identified by the MNCH WG. Analysis of questionnaire data was undertaken to identify key similarities and differences among respondents according to questionnaire language, location and specialty. Following elimination of the seven lowest ranking priorities, the questionnaire was recirculated to the original pool of respondents. Thematic analysis of final questionnaire data was undertaken by the MNCH WG from which four priority research themes emerged.

Results

Questionnaire 1 was completed by 225 respondents from 29 countries. Questionnaire 2 was returned by 49 respondents. The four priority research themes which emerged from the analysis were 1) access to healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2) the direct and 3) indirect effects of COVID-19 on pregnant and breastfeeding women and children and 4) the transmission of COVID-19 and protection from infection.

Conclusion

The results of these questionnaires indicated a high level of concordance among continents and specialties regarding priority research themes. This prioritized list of research uncertainties, developed to specifically highlight the most urgent clinical needs as perceived by healthcare professionals and researchers, could help funding organizations and researchers to answer the most pressing questions for clinicians and public health professionals during the pandemic. It is hoped that these identified priority research themes can help focus the discussion regarding the allocation of limited resources to enhance COVID-19 research in MNCH globally.

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  1. Version published to 10.1371/journal.pone.0257516
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.07.13.21260207: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Ethicsnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Responses were collected electronically over a period of four weeks and data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel.
    Microsoft Excel
    suggested: (Microsoft Excel, RRID:SCR_016137)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Some LMICs have seen disruptions in their ability to provide vaccinations in accordance with their national immunization schedules, owing to both limitations in healthcare resources and the inability of parents and caregivers to bring their children to healthcare facilities due to increased poverty and travel restrictions.(38) This disruption may result in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in future years, thus, it is important to develop the infrastructures necessary to strengthen immunization programs, facilitate the provision of catch-up vaccinations and where possible, and to monitor disease outbreaks to minimize the re-emergence of such diseases within these communities.(39) Lockdown measures implemented in many countries have also led to long-term closures of schools and other educational institutions across the world, with remote learning via online platforms replacing face-to-face learning in many countries. The introduction of remote learning has unfortunately served to further disadvantage millions of children from marginalized communities.(40) Long-term longitudinal studies may be necessary to understand how this disruption in schooling has affected child development and objective educational levels in children, particularly among children in resource-limited regions of the world who have faced prolonged restricted access to learning resources during the pandemic. Theme 4 Transmission of COVID-19 and protection from infection: Understanding the risk and rou...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

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  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.07.13.21260207v1 on medRxiv