In today’s healthcare world, making sure everyone gets equal care is key. PRISMA-Equity is a new tool to help with this big challenge. It guides reviewers to look at how different groups of people respond to treatments.

This framework helps researchers find out how to make healthcare better for everyone. It gives them the tools to make policies that help all people get the care they need.

Key Takeaways

  • PRISMA-Equity is a methodological framework that helps systematic reviewers assess health equity in their research.
  • It provides guidance on evaluating potential differences in treatment effects across socially stratifying factors like race, gender, socioeconomic status, and more.
  • By incorporating PRISMA-Equity, researchers can generate evidence-based insights to inform policies and drive progress towards more equitable healthcare.
  • PRISMA-Equity aligns with the growing emphasis on addressing health disparities and ensuring marginalized communities have access to quality care.
  • The framework’s holistic approach to health equity can lead to more inclusive, impactful, and socially responsible systematic reviews.

What is PRISMA-Equity?

PRISMA-Equity is a tool for systematic reviewers to think about health equity in their reviews. It guides them on how to look at differences in effects across various social groups. These groups often face barriers to health due to where they live, their race, job, gender, education, wealth, and other factors.

This framework is based on the PRISMA statement but focuses on health equity. PRISMA-Equity helps systematic reviews see how interventions affect different groups, especially those who are disadvantaged or marginalized.

Key Features of PRISMA-Equity

  • Provides a structured way to look at health equity in systematic reviews
  • Asks reviewers to think about how social factors affect how well interventions work
  • Highlights the role of wealth and other socioeconomic factors in health outcomes
  • Encourages the use of search strategies and data methods focused on equity
  • Helps in making conclusions and recommendations that consider equity

Using PRISMA-Equity in systematic reviews helps researchers understand health equity better. It also guides policymakers and practitioners to tackle health disparities.

“PRISMA-Equity is a crucial tool for systematic reviewers who want to ensure their work addresses the needs of marginalized and disadvantaged populations.”

FeatureDescription
Equity-focused search strategiesFind and include studies that look at how interventions affect certain groups, like those facing economic or social challenges.
Equity-oriented data extractionCollect data on how interventions work differently in various groups, including those affected by social factors.
Equity-oriented synthesis and reportingPresent findings in a way that shows how they relate to health equity, including any differences in how well interventions work.

By using the PRISMA-Equity framework, systematic reviewers can make sure their work supports fairer health outcomes. It helps guide policies and practices aimed at reducing social inequities.

The Importance of Health Equity in Systematic Reviews

Improving health equity is a key goal in the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, systematic reviews often ignore how interventions affect different groups like those based on income, race, and gender. This is seen as a big problem by policymakers when making decisions based on these reviews.

Systematic reviews are key in bringing together the best research to help make healthcare policies and practices better. But if they don’t look at how different groups are affected, they might make things worse. This could stop us from getting to equitable healthcare and helping vulnerable populations and marginalized communities.

“Out of a total of 50 references analyzed, 7 focus on the implementation of evidence-based practices in behavioral health systems.”

To fix this, the PRISMA-Equity framework was made to focus on health equity in systematic reviews. It helps reviewers think about how different groups might be affected by interventions. This makes sure the evidence is more complete and helps everyone, not just some.

  • In 2020, 1 paper talked about how to improve kids’ mental health by aligning science with health policies.
  • 2 studies showed that focusing on health equity is very important in implementation science.
  • Another study in 2015 looked at using organization theory to make implementation science better.

Adding health equity to systematic reviews is crucial for making evidence-based policymaking. It helps reduce bias and supports inclusive research for marginalized communities. This way, we can work towards a healthcare system that is fair and just for everyone.

Health Equity

Objectives of PRISMA-Equity

The PRISMA-Equity framework helps systematic reviewers think about health equity during their work. It has main goals:

  1. To look at how different factors like money, race, gender, and more affect health chances.
  2. To use the right methods to study and share findings on health equity. This includes looking at different groups and how well interventions work for everyone.
  3. To make sure reviews are clear and complete about how they consider health equity. This helps us understand how interventions affect health gaps.
  4. To include views from people facing health gaps. This makes sure the review’s results are relevant and useful.

PRISMA-Equity makes sure reviews focus on health equity. It looks at how socioeconomic factors and social determinants of health affect health. This helps reduce health inequities worldwide.

“PRISMA-Equity is a key tool for systematic reviewers. It helps them think about health equity. This way, interventions are checked for how they affect different people. It helps make healthcare fairer.”

PRISMA-Equity gives a detailed plan for reviewing how interventions work. It looks at health equity in reviews. This leads to healthcare that’s fair and includes everyone.

Search Methods

The review searched many databases up to February 2021. It looked in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Methodology Register, CINAHL, and more. The team also checked SCOPUS on June 10, 2021, for new articles that mentioned the studies they found. They contacted authors and checked the references of the studies they picked to find more important sources.

This detailed search strategy included database searches, looking at who cited the studies, and talking to experts. This way, the reviewers could find a wide range of studies on PRISMA-Equity search methods, systematic review methodology, health equity assessment, and database searches. Their thorough approach made sure the results were based on a strong and varied set of evidence.

DatabaseSearch Period
MEDLINEUp to 26 February 2021
PsycINFOUp to 26 February 2021
Cochrane Methodology RegisterUp to 26 February 2021
CINAHLUp to 26 February 2021
Education Resources Information CenterUp to 26 February 2021
Education AbstractsUp to 26 February 2021
Criminal Justice AbstractsUp to 26 February 2021
Hein Index to Foreign Legal PeriodicalsUp to 26 February 2021
PAIS InternationalUp to 26 February 2021
Social Services AbstractsUp to 26 February 2021
Sociological AbstractsUp to 26 February 2021
Digital DissertationsUp to 26 February 2021
Health Technology Assessment DatabaseUp to 26 February 2021

Using a detailed and strong systematic review methodology, the researchers made sure their findings on PRISMA-Equity search methods and health equity assessment were solid. They looked at all the literature they could find.

PRISMA-Equity search methods

PRISMA-Equity: Championing Health Equity in Systematic Reviews

PRISMA-Equity is a tool for systematic reviewers to focus on health equity. It helps them look at how different factors affect health, like where you live, your race, job, gender, education, and wealth. These factors can limit health chances.

The goal of PRISMA-Equity is to reduce bias and make research more inclusive. It makes sure reviews look at the needs of vulnerable populations and marginalized communities. By looking at social determinants of health, it helps make policies that improve health for everyone.

The main goals of PRISMA-Equity are:

  • To make health equity a key part of planning, doing, and sharing systematic reviews.
  • To help spot and fix biases that affect some groups more than others.
  • To include different views and experiences in research.
  • To turn research into actions that help underserved communities.

By using PRISMA-Equity, systematic reviewers can help make healthcare better for everyone. They can make a big difference in creating a fair and inclusive healthcare system.

“PRISMA-Equity is a game-changer in the world of systematic reviews, empowering researchers to make a tangible difference in the lives of vulnerable populations.”

Selection Criteria and Data Collection

The PRISMA-Equity review looked at studies that measured how to tackle health inequalities. These are unfair and avoidable differences in health due to social factors. These factors include things like where you live, your race, your job, your gender, your religion, your education, your economic status, and your social connections.

The review looked at 97 studies in total. These studies came from online databases and other sources. The search was done in three big databases and health agency websites in countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

To be included, articles had to meet certain criteria:

  • Available in English
  • Reporting original primary empirical or theoretical work
  • Published from the year 2000 onwards

The study looked at healthcare users from different ethnic backgrounds. This includes people born in another country, with parents from another country, who speak a language other than English at home, or who don’t speak English well.

“Targeted strategies and methods to increase uptake and completion of PREMs among ethnically diverse communities may contribute to reducing barriers to participation.”

The review found that Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) are important for checking healthcare quality. But, these surveys often have many questions. This can be hard for people who struggle with language or reading.

Main Findings

The PRISMA-Equity review found many important insights. It showed how crucial it is to look at health equity in systematic reviews. The review looked at different ways researchers tackle health equity. They focused on how to analyze groups, check if findings apply, and work with stakeholders.

Out of 158 studies, 108 focused on health inequity. This shows how vital it is to know how interventions affect different groups.

  • 26 studies looked at subgroup analysis across PROGRESS-Plus factors like age, income, and race.
  • 2 studies went deeper, looking at how effects change across these factors.
  • 20 studies used subgroup analysis and focused approaches to understand health inequities better.

The review found that age, income, and country wealth were top factors studied. This shows the need to look at many social factors that affect health.

PROGRESS-Plus FactorNumber of Studies
Age43
Socioeconomic Status35
Low- and Middle-Income Countries24
Gender or Sex22
Race or Ethnicity17

The PRISMA-Equity review shows how important it is to assess health equity in systematic reviews. It highlights the need for different methods to understand how interventions affect different groups. This can help make healthcare more fair for everyone.

Conclusion

The review of the PRISMA-Equity framework shows we need better methods to focus on health equity in reviews. We must work on making the concept of health equity clear. Also, we should share more about how we analyze data and be open about our decisions.

Only a few studies (16 out of 158) clearly defined health inequity. This lack of clarity makes it hard to understand this important topic. Also, the way we report how we look at differences in health outcomes is not clear enough. This makes it hard to trust our findings.

We also see the importance of working with people who know about health inequities. By doing this, we can make sure our reviews really help the people most affected by health gaps. This way, our reviews can have a bigger on solving health issues.

FAQ

What is PRISMA-Equity?

PRISMA-Equity is a tool for systematic reviewers to think about health equity in their reviews. It helps them look at how different groups might be affected differently by health issues. These groups include people from different places, races, jobs, genders, and more.

Why is health equity important in systematic reviews?

Health equity is key for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. Systematic reviews often miss looking at how different groups are affected. This makes it hard for them to help make policy and program decisions.

What were the objectives of the review on PRISMA-Equity?

The review looked into how systematic reviewers handle health equity in their reviews. It wanted to see what methods they use to think about it.

What search methods were used in the review?

The review checked many databases up to 26 February 2021. It looked at MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Methodology Register, among others. It also checked SCOPUS for articles that mentioned the studies found, and talked to authors and checked their references for more studies.

What were the selection criteria for the studies included in the review?

The review picked studies that looked at how to measure health inequalities. These studies focused on unfair differences in health across different groups. They looked at things like where people live, their race, jobs, gender, and more.

What were the main findings of the review?

The review found 158 studies that met its criteria. It found that many studies looked at age, income, and race. The review said we need better ways to understand health equity and report on it in studies.

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