Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38491911›Full record

ReviewJournal of global health2024

Reporting of equity in observational epidemiology: A methodological review.

Omar Dewidar, Ali Al-Zubaidi, Mostafa Bondok, Leenah Abdelrazeq, Jimmy Huang, Alyssa Jearvis, Lucy C Barker, Nour Elmestekawy, Elizabeth Goghomu, Tamara Rader and 40 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of global health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Ethical Frameworks and Global Health: A Narrative Review of the "Leave No One Behind" Principle.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

50 authors.

Omar DewidarTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ali Al-ZubaidiBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Mostafa BondokBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Leenah AbdelrazeqBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Jimmy HuangBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Alyssa JearvisBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Lucy C BarkerDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Nour ElmestekawyBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Elizabeth GoghomuBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Tamara RaderFreelance health research librarian, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Janice TufteHassanah Consulting, Seattle, Washington State, USA.
Regina Greer-SmithHealthcare Research Associates, LLC/S.T.A.R. Initiative, California, USA.
Hugh S WaddingtonLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Stuart G NichollsClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Julian LittleSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Billie-Jo HardyDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Tanya HorsleyRoyal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Taryn YoungCentre for Evidence Based Health Care, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Luis Gabriel CuervoDepartment of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Washington, DC, USA.
Melissa K SharpDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland.
Catherine ChamberlainJudith Lumley Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Beverley SheaClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Peter CraigInstitute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Daeria O LawsonDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Anita RizviSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Charles S WiysongeCochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
Tamara KredoCochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
Damian FrancisSchool of Health and Human Performance, Georgia College, Milledgeville, Georgia, USA.
Elizabeth KristjanssonClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Zulfiqar BhuttaCentre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
Alba AntequeraBiomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.
G J Melendez-TorresDepartment of Public Health and Sports Science, University of Exeter College of Medicine and Health, Exeter, UK.
Tomas PantojaFamily Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Xiaoqin WangMichael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Janet JullFaculty of Health Sciences, School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada.
Janet Hatcher RobertsWorld Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment in Health Equity, Ottawa, Canada.
Sarah FunnellDepartment of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
Howard WhiteCampbell Collaboration, Oslo, Norway.
Alison KrentelBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Michael Johnson MahandeDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Tanzania.
Jacqueline RamkeInternational Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
George WellsSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Jennifer PetkovicBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Kevin PottieC.T. Lamont Primary Care Research Centre, Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Loveline NibaDepartment of Public Health, The University of Bamenda, Bamenda, Cameroon.
Cindy FengSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Miriam N NguliefemSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Peter TugwellBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Lawrence MbuagbawDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Vivian WelchBruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Observational studies can inform how we understand and address persisting health inequities through the collection, reporting and analysis of health equity factors. However, the extent to which the analysis and reporting of equity-relevant aspects in observational research are generally unknown. Thus, we aimed to systematically evaluate how equity-relevant observational studies reported equity considerations in the study design and analyses. Methods: We searched MEDLINE for health equity-relevant observational studies from January 2020 to March 2022, resulting in 16 828 articles. We randomly selected 320 studies, ensuring a balance in focus on populations experiencing inequities, country income settings, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) topic. We extracted information on study design and analysis methods. Results: The bulk of the studies were conducted in North America (n = 95, 30%), followed by Europe and Central Asia (n = 55, 17%). Half of the studies (n = 171, 53%) addressed general health and well-being, while 49 (15%) focused on mental health conditions. Two-thirds of the studies (n = 220, 69%) were cross-sectional. Eight (3%) engaged with populations experiencing inequities, while 22 (29%) adapted recruitment methods to reach these populations. Further, 67 studies (21%) examined interaction effects primarily related to race or ethnicity (48%). Two-thirds of the studies (72%) adjusted for characteristics associated with inequities, and 18 studies (6%) used flow diagrams to depict how populations experiencing inequities progressed throughout the studies. Conclusions: Despite over 80% of the equity-focused observational studies providing a rationale for a focus on health equity, reporting of study design features relevant to health equity ranged from 0-95%, with over half of the items reported by less than one-quarter of studies. This methodological study is a baseline assessment to inform the development of an equity-focussed reporting guideline for observational studies as an extension of the well-known Strengthening Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guideline.

Indexed as

Observational Studies as TopicResearch DesignData CollectionEuropeHumansNorth America

Identifiers

PMID38491911
PMCPMC10903926

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.