Equity issues were not fully addressed in Cochrane human immunodeficiency virus systematic reviews

Abstract

Objective: To describe and summarize equity reporting in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) systematic reviews and explore the extent to which equity issues are addressed and reported in HIV reviews using the PROGRESS Plus framework.

Study design and setting: Application of the PROGRESS Plus framework to a bibliometric analysis of HIV reviews in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Results: The analysis included 103 reviews published as of March 2014, with a median of five studies per review (first quartile; Q1 = 2; third quartile; Q3 = 11). Reporting of PROGRESS Plus factors was as follows: Place of residence (low, middle, and high income; 55.3%), place of residence (urban or rural; 24.3%), race or ethnicity (20.4%), occupation (10.7%), gender (65.0%), religion (1.9%), education (7.8%), socioeconomic position (10.7%), social networks and capital (1.0%), age (1.9%), and sexual orientation (3.8%).

Conclusion: Gaps in the reporting of relevant equity indicators were identified within Cochrane HIV systematic review indicating that research is not consistently conducted through an equity lens. There is a need to incorporate PROGRESS Plus factors into both primary and secondary studies.

Keywords: Bibliometric analysis; Cochrane; Equity; HIV research; PROGRESS plus; Systematic reviews.