Muhammad Younus, Azfare Alam Siddiqi, Bilquis Sana Khan, Amy L. Steffey.
Institutional and Surveillance Database use in Epidemiologic Research in developing countries: revisiting some limitations.
J Pak Med Assoc Jan ;58(3):138-9.

In recent years, with the growing biomedical research field in developing countries including Pakistan, epidemiologists and physicians are increasingly using surveillance and institutional databases for estimating disease burdens and comparing rates among different populations. We do not intend to criticize epidemiologic methods or databases in this report; our purpose is to highlight points that will facilitate a realistic appraisal of surveillance database use in epidemiologic research that may enhance the methodological aspects of future research. There are no easy solutions to eliminating inherent biases related to surveillance or hospital-based data. The objective is to recognize the effects of reporting biases and minimize misinterpretation of results by readers. We recommend researchers discuss the limitations of databases and acknowledge possible sources of bias when reporting results based on surveillance data or medical record audits. This is a special communication.

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