Gaps in health research in the Dominican Republic.

Objective To provide a basic profile of health research in the Dominican Republic by identifying health problems or diseases that have been addressed by studies implemented during the period 2009-2013 and to determine how well that research correlates with the burden of disease in the Dominican population. Methods This was a descriptive study that searched for primary and secondary data sources to identify health research implemented in the Dominican Republic in the years 2009 to 2013. Data about these projects were collected from the registries of clinicaltrials.

National mass drug administration costs for lymphatic filariasis elimination.

Background: Because lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination efforts are hampered by a dearth of economic information about the cost of mass drug administration (MDA) programs (using either albendazole with diethylcarbamazine [DEC] or albendazole with ivermectin), a multicenter study was undertaken to determine the costs of MDA programs to interrupt transmission of infection with LF. Such results are particularly important because LF programs have the necessary diagnostic and treatment tools to eliminate the disease as a public health problem globally, and already by 2006, the Global Programme to Eliminate LF had initiated treatment programs covering over 400 million of the 1.3 billion people at risk.