Evidence suggests that newborn and child health systematic reviews and meta-analyses exhibit poor quality in reporting. The Preferred Reporting Items in Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’(PRISMA) and PRISMA-(Protocol) checklists have been developed to improve the reporting of systematic reviews results and protocols, respectively. We aimed to identify areas where reporting could be strengthened, underpinning a rationale for the implementation of child-centric extensions and modifications to current PRISMA and PRISMA-P, such as to improve reporting in this population.
In collaboration with members of the PRISMA Group, we are developing a consensus-based checklist of essential items which researchers should include when reporting systematic reviews (SRs) of pediatric intervention research. The PRISMA-Children guidance will 1) help authors write clear reports of their SRs of pediatric intervention research, 2) create a framework for reviewers that assess publications, 3) expedite funding evaluations, 4) provide a tool for training students and researchers on paediatric SR methodology, and 5) help end-users of the SR such as paediatricians and policy makers to better evaluate SR’s validity and applicability in their decision-making process.
An international, one-round survey was conducted from July – August 2025 to reach consensus on the minimum reporting items necessary for systematic reviews of pediatric intervention research. In September 2025, we held a consensus meeting and Family Caregiver Workshop to finalize the guideline.
The guideline and statement paper is now being prepared and will be published open access.
- Systematic review: Farid-Kapadia M, Joachim KC, Balasingham C, Clyburne-Sherin A, Offringa M. Are child-centric aspects in newborn and child health systematic review and meta-analysis protocols and reports adequately reported?-two systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2017 Mar 6;6(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s13643-017-0423-9. PMID: 28260528; PMCID: PMC5338085.
- Debate paper: Farid-Kapadia M, Askie L, Hartling L, Contopoulos-Ioannidis D, Bhutta ZA, Soll R, Moher D, Offringa M. Do systematic reviews on pediatric topics need special methodological considerations? BMC Pediatr. 2017 Mar 6;17(1):57. doi: 10.1186/s12887-017-0812-1. PMID: 28260530; PMCID: PMC5338083.
- Previous protocol: Kapadia MZ, Askie L, Hartling L, Contopoulos-Ioannidis D, Bhutta ZA, Soll R, Moher D, Offringa M. PRISMA-Children (C) and PRISMA-Protocol for Children (P-C) Extensions: a study protocol for the development of guidelines for the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of newborn and child health research. BMJ Open. 2016 Apr 18;6(4):e010270. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010270. PMID: 27091820; PMCID: PMC4838710.
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This project is funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research.