PACTR launches online interactive map of clinical trials in Africa
The Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR) officially launched a Global Information Systems (GIS) mapping component to its database yesterday. The fully interactive map provides a visual display of trial locations, as they are registered, according to the coordinates of the cities listed as recruitment centres. The map is fully searchable.
PACTR could very well be the first trial registry to offer a live, searchable GIS mapping component. Users can isolate disease type, trial titles, intervention type (prevention, treatment, education, diagnosis, and support), country, city, recruitment status and site type (single-centre, multi-centre / multi-nation, multi-centre / single nation). Users can navigate through the map by zooming in to specific sites, or attain a broader picture by viewing the continent. The map has been the product of concerted efforts since the inception of the registry as the AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) Registry in 2006.
PACTR is a regional register of clinical trials conducted in Africa. It provides a platform where clinical trials can be registered prospectively. In addition, it provides a searchable, electronic database of planned trials and trials currently in progress. PACTR provides full online registration but trials may also be registered by email, postal mail or facsimile correspondence. Trial registration is free.
PACTR is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Network of Primary Registers. It is funded by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership. Its primary partners are The South African Cochrane Centre (SACC), based at the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) and The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group (CIDG), based at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
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