There are challenges in conducting systematic reviews in developing countries: the Jamaican experience

To describe some contextual and methodological challenges to conduct systematic reviews (SR) in developing countries using experiences from Jamaica.

We identified four overarching challenges to conducting SRs in our setting, and present approaches used to overcome them. Challenges were evaluated using experiences in primary research and examples from SRs being conducted by the team. The applicability of global networking to increase capacity for SRs in Jamaica was described.

Challenges were: 1) accessibility to the literature, 2) human resources in research, 3) local funding and 4) knowledge translation (KT). We found access to published literature was incomplete. There were limited human resources to conduct SRs, especially information scientists, knowledge brokers and expert SR methodologists as well as limited research funding. The approaches to overcome these challenges were; establishing membership within research networks, implementing training fellowship for SR authors, conducting sensitization and training workshops with specialized groups, and collaborating with developed country researchers for wider access to both funding and human resources.

Challenges in conducting SR in developing countries can be overcome. Approaches to strengthen KT should be prioritized in order to generate and promote a robust, generalizable evidence base for healthcare and policy.