This qualitative study interviewed 33 stakeholders across 13 East and Southeast Asian countries and regions, with additional experts from India, the UK and US. Four themes emerged: structural and contextual barriers; local adaptation of design and logistics; funding and staff-retention threats; and governance, privacy and comparability constraints. Recommendations emphasize policy alignment, multidisciplinary collaboration, harmonization and intentional inclusion of vulnerable populations.
Key findings
- Four themes covered unstable funding, silos and workforce gaps; contextual adaptation and biospecimen logistics; sustaining funds and teams through disruption; and governance, privacy and comparability constraints.
Why this matters globally
Asia is aging rapidly, while policy evidence depends on cohorts surviving for decades. The study maps system-level problems for funders, governments and data networks before investment in interoperability and cross-country sharing.
Thai researcher contribution
Dararatt Anantanasuwong of Thailand's National Institute of Development Administration contributes to the regional synthesis, connecting Thai experience to Asia's aging-data infrastructure.
Limitations to consider
A purposive snowball sample of 33 may favor accessible networks and senior data leaders. Data users, older participants and regulators may be underrepresented. These are self-reported experiences, not measured infrastructure performance or tests of whether recommendations improve retention and comparability.