Quality of study methods in individual- and group-level HIV intervention research: critical reporting elements

To facilitate research synthesis and the identification of effective interventions, we reviewed and summarized critical reporting elements related to quality of study methods (QSM) specifically for individual- and group-level HIV intervention research. In developing these elements, we considered three sources of information: threats to validity, criteria and recommendations from review projects, and criteria and recommendations from published reviews relevant to HIV intervention research. Suggested QSM elements include, thoroughly describing intervention activities, using comparable outcome measures at preintervention and postintervention assessments, reporting data in detail for each study group, reporting participant refusal rates, including a comparison group, demonstrating study group comparability, clearly describing assignment to study groups, using appropriate statistical controls, collecting follow-up data from at least a 3-month postintervention period, reporting attrition in detail, and describing in detail whether the study sample size is adequate for detecting the expected effect size. Reporting on these QSM elements will assist in identifying effective behavioral interventions.