Guidance relevant to the reporting of health equity in observational research: a scoping review protocol

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056875

. 2022 May 19;12(5):e056875.

doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056875.

Guidance relevant to the reporting of health equity in observational research: a scoping review protocol

Anita Rizvi¹, Daeria O Lawson², Taryn Young³, Omar Dewidar⁴, Stuart Nicholls⁵, Elie A Akl^{2

6}, Julian Little⁴, Olivia Magwood^{7

8}, Larissa Shamseer⁹, Elizabeth Ghogomu¹⁰, Janet Elizabeth Jull¹¹, Tamara Rader¹², Zulfiqar Bhutta^{13

14}, Catherine Chamberlain^{15

16

17}, Holly Ellingwood¹⁸, Regina Greer-Smith¹⁹, Billie-Jo Hardy²⁰, Matire Harwood²¹, Michelle Kennedy²², Tamara Kredo²³, Elizabeth Loder²⁴, Michael Johnson J Mahande²⁵, Lawrence Mbuagbaw², Miriam Nkangu⁴, Patrick M Okwen²⁶, Jacqueline Ramke^{27

28}, Janice Tufte²⁹, Peter Tugwell³⁰, Xiaoqin Wang³¹, Charles Shey Wiysonge²³, Vivian A Welch⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, University of Ottawa Faculty of Social Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada arizv036@uottawa.ca.
² Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
³ Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁴ School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁷ CT Lamont Primary Care Research Centre, Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁸ Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁹ Knowledge Translation Program, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁰ Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹¹ School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
¹² Freelance health research librarian, (no affiliation), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹³ Centre for Global Child Health, SickKids Center for Global Child Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁴ Institute for Global Health & Development, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
¹⁵ Centre for Health Equity, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁶ Judith Lumley Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁷ Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
¹⁸ Department of Psychology, Department of Law, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁹ Healthcare Research Associates, LLC/Strategically Targeting Appropriate Researchers (S.T.A.R.) Initiative, Apple Valley, California, USA.
²⁰ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
²¹ Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
²² College of Health Medicine and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
²³ Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
²⁴ Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
²⁵ Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, United Republic of Tanzania.
²⁶ Effective Basic Services (eBASE) Africa, Bamenda, Cameroon.
²⁷ London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
²⁸ School of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
²⁹ Hassanah Consulting, Seattle, Washington, USA.
³⁰ University of Ottawa Department of Medicine, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
³¹ Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 35589369
PMCID: PMC9121499
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056875

Guidance relevant to the reporting of health equity in observational research: a scoping review protocol

Anita Rizvi et al. BMJ Open. 2022.

. 2022 May 19;12(5):e056875.

doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056875.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, University of Ottawa Faculty of Social Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada arizv036@uottawa.ca.
² Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
³ Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁴ School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁷ CT Lamont Primary Care Research Centre, Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁸ Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁹ Knowledge Translation Program, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁰ Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹¹ School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
¹² Freelance health research librarian, (no affiliation), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹³ Centre for Global Child Health, SickKids Center for Global Child Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁴ Institute for Global Health & Development, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
¹⁵ Centre for Health Equity, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁶ Judith Lumley Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁷ Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
¹⁸ Department of Psychology, Department of Law, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁹ Healthcare Research Associates, LLC/Strategically Targeting Appropriate Researchers (S.T.A.R.) Initiative, Apple Valley, California, USA.
²⁰ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
²¹ Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
²² College of Health Medicine and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
²³ Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
²⁴ Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
²⁵ Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, United Republic of Tanzania.
²⁶ Effective Basic Services (eBASE) Africa, Bamenda, Cameroon.
²⁷ London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
²⁸ School of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
²⁹ Hassanah Consulting, Seattle, Washington, USA.
³⁰ University of Ottawa Department of Medicine, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
³¹ Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 35589369
PMCID: PMC9121499
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056875

Abstract

Introduction: Health inequities are defined as unfair and avoidable differences in health between groups within a population. Most health research is conducted through observational studies, which are able to offer real-world insights about etiology, healthcare policy/programme effectiveness and the impacts of socioeconomic factors. However, most published reports of observational studies do not address how their findings relate to health equity. Our team seeks to develop equity-relevant reporting guidance as an extension of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement. This scoping review will inform the development of candidate items for the STROBE-Equity extension. We will operationalise equity-seeking populations using the PROGRESS-Plus framework of sociodemographic factors. As part of a parallel stream of the STROBE-Equity project, the relevance of candidate guideline items to Indigenous research will be led by Indigenous coinvestigators on the team.

Methods and analysis: We will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute method for conducting scoping reviews. We will evaluate the extent to which the identified guidance supports or refutes our preliminary candidate items for reporting equity in observational studies. These candidate items were developed based on items from equity-reporting guidelines for randomised trials and systematic reviews, developed by members of this team. We will consult with our knowledge users, patients/public partners and Indigenous research steering committee to invite suggestions for relevant guidance documents and interpretation of findings. If the identified guidance suggests the need for additional candidate items, they will be developed through inductive thematic analysis.

Ethics and dissemination: We will follow a principled approach that promotes ethical codevelopment with our community partners, based on principles of cultural safety, authentic partnerships, addressing colonial structures in knowledge production and the shared ownership, interpretation, and dissemination of research. All products of this research will be published as open access.

Keywords: Equity; Indigenous; equity-seeking; guidance; health; observational studies; reporting.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

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References

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1. Braveman P, Tarimo E. Social inequalities in health within countries: not only an issue for affluent nations. Soc Sci Med 2002;54:1621–35. 10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00331-8 - DOI - PubMed
1. Heidari S, Babor TF, De Castro P, et al. . [Sex and gender equity in research: rationale for the SAGER guidelines and recommended use]. Gac Sanit 2019;33:203–10. 10.1016/j.gaceta.2018.04.003 - DOI - PubMed
1. Bell R, Grobicki L, Hamelmann C. Addressing Social, Economic and Environmental Determinants of Health and the Health Divide in the Context of Sustainable Human Development. UNDP, 2014. Available: https://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/rbec/en/home/library/hiv_aids/addre... [Accessed 14 Jun 2021].
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[1] Whitehead M. The concepts and principles of equity and health. Int J Health Serv 1992;22:429–45. 10.2190/986L-LHQ6-2VTE-YRRN - DOI - PubMed

[2] Whitehead M. The concepts and principles of equity and health. Int J Health Serv 1992;22:429–45. 10.2190/986L-LHQ6-2VTE-YRRN - DOI - PubMed

[3] Braveman P, Tarimo E. Social inequalities in health within countries: not only an issue for affluent nations. Soc Sci Med 2002;54:1621–35. 10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00331-8 - DOI - PubMed

[4] Braveman P, Tarimo E. Social inequalities in health within countries: not only an issue for affluent nations. Soc Sci Med 2002;54:1621–35. 10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00331-8 - DOI - PubMed

[5] Heidari S, Babor TF, De Castro P, et al. . [Sex and gender equity in research: rationale for the SAGER guidelines and recommended use]. Gac Sanit 2019;33:203–10. 10.1016/j.gaceta.2018.04.003 - DOI - PubMed

[6] Heidari S, Babor TF, De Castro P, et al. . [Sex and gender equity in research: rationale for the SAGER guidelines and recommended use]. Gac Sanit 2019;33:203–10. 10.1016/j.gaceta.2018.04.003 - DOI - PubMed

[7] Bell R, Grobicki L, Hamelmann C. Addressing Social, Economic and Environmental Determinants of Health and the Health Divide in the Context of Sustainable Human Development. UNDP, 2014. Available: https://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/rbec/en/home/library/hiv_aids/addre... [Accessed 14 Jun 2021].

[8] Bell R, Grobicki L, Hamelmann C. Addressing Social, Economic and Environmental Determinants of Health and the Health Divide in the Context of Sustainable Human Development. UNDP, 2014. Available: https://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/rbec/en/home/library/hiv_aids/addre... [Accessed 14 Jun 2021].

[9] Lucas RM, McMichael AJ. Association or causation: evaluating links between "environment and disease". Bull World Health Organ 2005;83:792–5 https://www.scielosp.org/article/ssm/content/raw/?resource_ssm_path=/med...doi:/S0042-96862005001000017 - PMC - PubMed

[10] Lucas RM, McMichael AJ. Association or causation: evaluating links between "environment and disease". Bull World Health Organ 2005;83:792–5 https://www.scielosp.org/article/ssm/content/raw/?resource_ssm_path=/med...doi:/S0042-96862005001000017 - PMC - PubMed

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Guidance relevant to the reporting of health equity in observational research: a scoping review protocol

Affiliations

Guidance relevant to the reporting of health equity in observational research: a scoping review protocol

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