Evidence Clearinghouses as Tools to Advance Health Equity: What We Know from a Systematic Scan

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Health Equity Studies

Background:

• Evidence clearinghouses synthesize research to guide decisions on interventions for community health.
• The assessment of health equity impacts within these clearinghouses remains largely unexplored.
• This study addresses the gap in understanding how clearinghouses evaluate and communicate intervention effects on health equity.

Approach:

• A systematic scan identified 18 US-focused, web-based clearinghouses rating intervention effectiveness in 2021.
• Publicly available information on health equity review methods, definitions, and values was collected.
• Qualitative comparative analysis was performed on selected clearinghouses.

Key Points:

• Only seven of 18 clearinghouses summarized intervention impacts on health equity.
• The seven clearinghouses defined and operationalized health equity inconsistently.
• Most clearinghouses lacked transparency regarding their equity review methodologies.

Conclusions:

• Clearinghouses can improve health equity advancement by enhancing equity-focused methods and transparency.
• Greater transparency in values and methods is crucial for supporting evidence-informed interventions.
• The development of equity-focused empirical evidence is essential for clearinghouses to effectively assess health equity impacts.