Extending the PRISMA statement to equity-focused systematic reviews (PRISMA-E 2012): explanation and elaboration

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Health Equity

Background:

• Health equity is a global imperative, yet systematic reviews often lack assessments of intervention effects on equity.
• The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement aids systematic review transparency.
• Existing PRISMA guidelines do not fully address the unique needs of equity-focused reviews.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and explain the PRISMA-E 2012 statement, an equity extension for PRISMA.
• To provide guidance for systematic reviewers on incorporating equity considerations into their reviews.
• To improve the reporting and transparency of equity-focused systematic reviews.

Main Methods:

• Development of an equity extension (PRISMA-E 2012) to the existing PRISMA checklist.
• Inclusion of specific items and modifications to the PRISMA statement to focus on health equity.
• Provision of rationale, examples, and original PRISMA items for each extension point.

Main Results:

• The PRISMA-E 2012 statement offers additions and modifications to PRISMA items.
• Guidance is provided on identifying, extracting, and synthesizing evidence on health equity.
• Examples of good reporting practices for equity-focused systematic reviews are presented.

Conclusions:

• PRISMA-E 2012 enhances the transparency and completeness of reporting for equity-focused systematic reviews.
• Improved reporting facilitates better policy-maker judgment on applicability.
• This can lead to more appropriate health policies and programs, ultimately contributing to reduced health inequities.