Equator Network: Systematic Reviews, Meta-Analysis, Reviews, Overview, Hta

The EQUATOR Network is a platform that aims to enhance the reliability and value of health research literature by promoting transparent and precise reporting of research studies. The platform provides guidelines and tools for researchers, editors, and peer reviewers to improve the quality of research reporting in systematic reviews, meta-analyses, reviews, overviews, and health technology assessments (HTAs).

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are important methods for summarizing and synthesizing evidence from multiple studies. A systematic review is a comprehensive and structured review of existing literature that uses a predetermined search strategy to identify all relevant studies, and a meta-analysis is a statistical technique that combines the results of many studies to provide a quantitative summary of the evidence. Both systematic reviews and meta-analyses require a high degree of transparency and accuracy in reporting to ensure the validity and dependability of the results. In addition, the EQUATOR Network provides guidelines for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, such as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, to help researchers and reviewers produce high-quality reports.

Reviews and overviews are other types of literature reviews that summarize existing evidence on a specific topic. For example, reviews and overviews may not be as comprehensive or structured as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, but they still require transparent and accurate reporting to ensure the credibility of the findings. In addition, the EQUATOR Network provides guidelines for reporting reviews and overviews, such as the Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR).

HTAs are a form of evidence synthesis that assesses the clinical effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness, and ethical implications of healthcare interventions. HTAs are used to inform healthcare policy and decision-making and require transparent and accurate reporting to ensure the credibility of the results. In addition, the EQUATOR Network provides guidelines for reporting HTAs, such as the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) and the HTA Core Model (1).

In addition to providing reporting guidelines, the EQUATOR Network also offers a range of tools and resources to help researchers and reviewers improve the quality of their reports. These include online courses and workshops, reporting checklists, and the EQUATOR Wizard, a free online tool that guides authors through writing a research report using the appropriate reporting guideline.