EQUATOR Network

Last updated

The EQUATOR Network
EQUATOR Network logo.png
HeadquartersUniversity of Oxford
URLwww.equator-network.org
CommercialNo
Launched2008
Current statusActive

The Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of health research Network (EQUATOR Network [1] ) is an international initiative aimed at promoting transparent and accurate reporting of health research studies to enhance the value and reliability of medical research literature. [2] The EQUATOR Network is hosted by the University of Oxford, and was established with the goals of raising awareness of the importance of good reporting of research, assisting in the development, dissemination and implementation of reporting guidelines for different types of study designs, monitoring the status of the quality of reporting of research studies in the health sciences literature, and conducting research relating to issues that impact the quality of reporting of health research studies. [3] The Network acts as an "umbrella" organisation, bringing together developers of reporting guidelines, medical journal editors and peer reviewers, research funding bodies, and other key stakeholders with a mutual interest in improving the quality of research publications and research itself. The EQUATOR Network comprises five centres at the University of Oxford (UK, Professor Gary Collins), Bond University (Australia, Professor Paul Glasziou and Professor Tammy Hoffman), Paris Descartes University (France, Professor Philippe Ravaud), Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (Canada, Professor David Moher), and Hong Kong Baptiste University (China, Professor Zhaoxiang Bian).

Contents

History

The EQUATOR Network grew out as part of spin-off projects generated after the work initiated by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials group and other guideline development groups to alleviate the problems arising from inadequate reporting of randomized controlled trials and other types of health research studies. The EQUATOR project began in March 2006 as part of a one-year project funded by the UK National Knowledge Science, from the National Health Service (NHS). [4] The group founded by Douglas Altman whilst at the University of Oxford planned a program that would develop online resources and training to encourage the use of reporting guidelines in scientific publishing in the health area [5] [6] to improve the quality of reporting of health research studies, identifying key stakeholders engaged in these activities and networking with them.

The first international working meeting of the EQUATOR Network took place in Oxford in 2006 and was attended by 27 participants from 10 countries. [7] Participants at this meeting were reporting guidelines developers, journal editors, peer reviewers, medical writers and research funders. The meeting served as a venue to exchange experiences among participants in developing, using and implementing reporting guidelines and prioritize the main activities that were necessary for the successful start of the EQUATOR Network's efforts.

The EQUATOR Network was formally launched on 26 June 2008 at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, UK. The event also hosted the 1st EQUATOR Annual Lecture presented by Sir Iain Chalmers. In that meeting, the results of a study by Iveta Simera, Douglas Altman, David Moher, Kenneth Schulz and John Hoey, were presented, and published two years later. [8] The study identified the need for a coordinated work between publishers, researchers and funders to improve the quality of the research output.

Since then, the EQUATOR Network has held annual lectures that have been held in Vancouver (Canada) in 2009, Oxford (UK) in 2010, Bristol (UK) in 2011, and Freiburg (Germany) in 2012.

The EQUATOR Network Library

The EQUATOR Network developed and maintains a comprehensive library that provides a collection of publications related to reporting guidelines on scientific writing, empirical evidence supporting or refuting the inclusion of crucial items in reporting guidelines, evaluations of the quality of reporting, publication ethics and educational materials and tools for editors, peer reviewers and researchers. Comprehensive lists of reporting guidelines for the following study types are available in the EQUATOR Network library:

Additional guidelines are available for practical issues relevant to the reporting of health research:

See also

References

  1. Simera, I; Moher, D; Hirst, A; Hoey, J; Schulz, KF; Altman, DG (2010). "Transparent and accurate reporting increases reliability, utility, and impact of your research: reporting guidelines and the EQUATOR Network". BMC Medicine. 8: 24. doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-8-24 . PMC   2874506 . PMID   20420659. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. Simera, I.; Moher, D.; Hoey, J.; Schulz, K. F.; Altman, D. G. (2010). "A catalogue of reporting guidelines for health research" . European Journal of Clinical Investigation. 40 (1): 35–53. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.2009.02234.x . PMID   20055895.[ dead link ]
  3. Simera, I; Altman, DG (October 2009). "Writing a research article that is "fit for purpose": EQUATOR Network and reporting guidelines". Evidence-Based Medicine. 14 (5): 132–4. doi:10.1136/ebm.14.5.132. PMID   19794009. S2CID   220165173.
  4. "A history of the evolution of guidelines for reporting medical research: the long road to the EQUATOR Network". The James Lind Library. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  5. "Resources in Spanish / Recursos en español | The EQUATOR Network" . Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  6. "Fond farewells: Celebrating Iveta Simera's decade with the EQUATOR Network | The EQUATOR Network" . Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  7. History: EQUATOR Network; [Available from: http://www.equator-network.org/about-us/history/ .
  8. Simera I, Altman DG, Moher D, Schulz KF, Hoey J (2008). "Guidelines for reporting health research: the EQUATOR network's survey of guideline authors". PLOS Med. 5 (6): e139. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0050139 . PMC   2443184 . PMID   18578566.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Chan, An-Wen; Tetzlaff, Jennifer M.; Altman, Douglas G.; Laupacis, Andreas; Gøtzsche, Peter C.; Krleža-Jerić, Karmela; Hróbjartsson, Asbjørn; Mann, Howard; Dickersin, Kay; Berlin, Jesse A.; Doré, Caroline J.; Parulekar, Wendy R.; Summerskill, William S.M.; Groves, Trish; Schulz, Kenneth F. (5 February 2013). "SPIRIT 2013 Statement: Defining Standard Protocol Items for Clinical Trials". Annals of Internal Medicine. 158 (3): 200–207. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-3-201302050-00583. ISSN   0003-4819. PMC   5114123 . PMID   23295957.
  10. Schulz, K. F; Altman, D. G; Moher, D.; for the CONSORT Group (23 March 2010). "CONSORT 2010 Statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials". BMJ. 340 (mar23 1): c332. doi:10.1136/bmj.c332. ISSN   0959-8138. PMC   2844940 . PMID   20332509.
  11. Elm, Erik von; Altman, Douglas G; Egger, Matthias; Pocock, Stuart J; Gøtzsche, Peter C; Vandenbroucke, Jan P (20 October 2007). "Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies". BMJ. 335 (7624): 806–808. doi:10.1136/bmj.39335.541782.AD. ISSN   0959-8138. PMC   2034723 . PMID   17947786.
  12. Gagnier, Joel J.; Kienle, Gunver; Altman, Douglas G.; Moher, David; Sox, Harold; Riley, David (2013). "The CARE Guidelines: Consensus-based Clinical Case Reporting Guideline Development". Global Advances in Health and Medicine. 2 (5): 38–43. doi:10.7453/gahmj.2013.008. ISSN   2164-9561. PMC   3833570 . PMID   24416692.
  13. Bossuyt, Patrick M; Reitsma, Johannes B; Bruns, David E; Gatsonis, Constantine A; Glasziou, Paul P; Irwig, Les; Lijmer, Jeroen G; Moher, David; Rennie, Drummond; de Vet, Henrica C W; Kressel, Herbert Y; Rifai, Nader; Golub, Robert M; Altman, Douglas G; Hooft, Lotty (28 October 2015). "STARD 2015: an updated list of essential items for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies". BMJ. 351: h5527. doi:10.1136/bmj.h5527. ISSN   1756-1833. PMC   4623764 . PMID   26511519.
  14. Collins, Gary S.; Reitsma, Johannes B.; Altman, Douglas G.; Moons, Karel G.M. (6 January 2015). "Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis (TRIPOD): The TRIPOD Statement". Annals of Internal Medicine. 162 (1): 55–63. doi:10.7326/M14-0697. hdl: 1874/333473 . ISSN   0003-4819. PMID   25560714.
  15. Page, Matthew J; McKenzie, Joanne E; Bossuyt, Patrick M; Boutron, Isabelle; Hoffmann, Tammy C; Mulrow, Cynthia D; Shamseer, Larissa; Tetzlaff, Jennifer M; Akl, Elie A; Brennan, Sue E; Chou, Roger; Glanville, Julie; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Hróbjartsson, Asbjørn; Lalu, Manoj M (29 March 2021). "The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews". BMJ. 372: n71. doi:10.1136/bmj.n71. ISSN   1756-1833. PMC   8005924 . PMID   33782057.
  16. PRISMA-P Group; Moher, David; Shamseer, Larissa; Clarke, Mike; Ghersi, Davina; Liberati, Alessandro; Petticrew, Mark; Shekelle, Paul; Stewart, Lesley A (2015). "Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement". Systematic Reviews. 4 (1): 1. doi: 10.1186/2046-4053-4-1 . ISSN   2046-4053. PMC   4320440 . PMID   25554246.
  17. Snell, Kym I E; Levis, Brooke; Damen, Johanna A A; Dhiman, Paula; Debray, Thomas P A; Hooft, Lotty; Reitsma, Johannes B; Moons, Karel G M; Collins, Gary S; Riley, Richard D (3 May 2023). "Transparent reporting of multivariable prediction models for individual prognosis or diagnosis: checklist for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (TRIPOD-SRMA)". BMJ. 381: e073538. doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-073538. ISSN   1756-1833. PMC   10155050 . PMID   37137496.
  18. O’Brien, Bridget C.; Harris, Ilene B.; Beckman, Thomas J.; Reed, Darcy A.; Cook, David A. (2014). "Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research: A Synthesis of Recommendations" . Academic Medicine. 89 (9): 1245–1251. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000000388. ISSN   1040-2446. PMID   24979285.
  19. Tong, A.; Sainsbury, P.; Craig, J. (16 September 2007). "Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups" . International Journal for Quality in Health Care. 19 (6): 349–357. doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzm042. ISSN   1353-4505. PMID   17872937.
  20. Percie du Sert, Nathalie; Hurst, Viki; Ahluwalia, Amrita; Alam, Sabina; Avey, Marc T.; Baker, Monya; Browne, William J.; Clark, Alejandra; Cuthill, Innes C.; Dirnagl, Ulrich; Emerson, Michael; Garner, Paul; Holgate, Stephen T.; Howells, David W.; Karp, Natasha A. (14 July 2020). Boutron, Isabelle (ed.). "The ARRIVE guidelines 2.0: Updated guidelines for reporting animal research". PLOS Biology. 18 (7): e3000410. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000410 . ISSN   1545-7885. PMC   7360023 . PMID   32663219.
  21. Stevens, Gretchen A; Alkema, Leontine; Black, Robert E; Boerma, J Ties; Collins, Gary S; Ezzati, Majid; Grove, John T; Hogan, Daniel R; Hogan, Margaret C; Horton, Richard; Lawn, Joy E; Marušić, Ana; Mathers, Colin D; Murray, Christopher J L; Rudan, Igor (2016). "Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting: the GATHER statement". The Lancet. 388 (10062): e19 –e23. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30388-9. hdl: 20.500.11820/e4565dab-c865-415c-ae89-a4654eb6fc2a . PMID   27371184.
  22. Husereau, Don; Drummond, Michael; Augustovski, Federico; de Bekker-Grob, Esther; Briggs, Andrew H; Carswell, Chris; Caulley, Lisa; Chaiyakunapruk, Nathorn; Greenberg, Dan; Loder, Elizabeth; Mauskopf, Josephine; Mullins, C Daniel; Petrou, Stavros; Pwu, Raoh-Fang; Staniszewska, Sophie (11 January 2022). "Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards 2022 (CHEERS 2022) statement: updated reporting guidance for health economic evaluations". BMJ. 376: e067975. doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-067975. ISSN   1756-1833. PMC   8749494 . PMID   35017145.
  23. Ogrinc, Greg; Davies, Louise; Goodman, Daisy; Batalden, Paul; Davidoff, Frank; Stevens, David (2016). "SQUIRE 2.0 ( Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence) : revised publication guidelines from a detailed consensus process: Table 1". BMJ Quality & Safety. 25 (12): 986–992. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004411. ISSN   2044-5415. PMC   5256233 . PMID   26369893.
  24. Little, Julian; Higgins, Julian P. T.; Ioannidis, John P. A.; Moher, David; Gagnon, France; von Elm, Erik; Khoury, Muin J.; Cohen, Barbara; Davey-Smith, George; Grimshaw, Jeremy; Scheet, Paul; Gwinn, Marta; Williamson, Robin E.; Zou, Guang Yong; Hutchings, Kim (2009). "STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association Studies (STREGA)—an extension of the STROBE statement". Genetic Epidemiology. 33 (7): 581–598. doi:10.1002/gepi.20410. hdl: 1765/50806 . ISSN   0741-0395. PMID   19278015.
  25. Collins, Gary S; Moons, Karel G M; Dhiman, Paula; Riley, Richard D; Beam, Andrew L; Van Calster, Ben; Ghassemi, Marzyeh; Liu, Xiaoxuan; Reitsma, Johannes B; van Smeden, Maarten; Boulesteix, Anne-Laure; Camaradou, Jennifer Catherine; Celi, Leo Anthony; Denaxas, Spiros; Denniston, Alastair K (16 April 2024). "TRIPOD+AI statement: updated guidance for reporting clinical prediction models that use regression or machine learning methods". BMJ. 385: e078378. doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-078378. ISSN   1756-1833. PMC   11019967 . PMID   38626948.
  26. Liu, Xiaoxuan; Cruz Rivera, Samantha; Moher, David; Calvert, Melanie J.; Denniston, Alastair K.; The SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI Working Group; SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI Steering Group; Chan, An-Wen; Darzi, Ara; Holmes, Christopher; Yau, Christopher; Ashrafian, Hutan; Deeks, Jonathan J.; Ferrante di Ruffano, Lavinia; Faes, Livia (2020). "Reporting guidelines for clinical trial reports for interventions involving artificial intelligence: the CONSORT-AI extension". Nature Medicine. 26 (9): 1364–1374. doi:10.1038/s41591-020-1034-x. ISSN   1078-8956. PMC   7598943 . PMID   32908283.
  27. Vasey, Baptiste; Nagendran, Myura; Campbell, Bruce; Clifton, David A; Collins, Gary S; Denaxas, Spiros; Denniston, Alastair K; Faes, Livia; Geerts, Bart; Ibrahim, Mudathir; Liu, Xiaoxuan; Mateen, Bilal A; Mathur, Piyush; McCradden, Melissa D; Morgan, Lauren (18 May 2022). "Reporting guideline for the early stage clinical evaluation of decision support systems driven by artificial intelligence: DECIDE-AI". BMJ. 377: e070904. doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-070904. ISSN   1756-1833. PMC   9116198 . PMID   35584845.