CRD leads new global research initiative
Posted on 22 February 2011
PROSPERO, which is led by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York, is the first open access online facility to prospectively register systematic reviews of the effects of interventions used in health and social care from around the world. Registration is web-based, free and open to all researchers planning to conduct a systematic review.
Systematic reviews are widely accepted as
providing the best quality evidence to support decision making in health and
social care for policy and practice.
They are valued by decision-makers because, when well conducted, they provide the most reliable
estimates about the effects of health care interventions.
The register is designed to avoid the duplication of health research and will act as a guard against selective reporting of research when findings differ from what was originally expected.
Professor Lesley Stewart, Director of the
Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, said: “The register will increase
transparency and guard against selective reporting; making it obvious if the
research that is published differs from what was planned at the outset.”
“Also, by providing information about reviews in progress, PROSPERO should also reduce unplanned duplication and encourage greater information sharing and collaboration worldwide.”
“We have been extremely pleased by the enthusiastic
international response to the development of PROSPERO, and also that our own National Institute for Health Research
is to make registration a requirement for all its grant holders undertaking
relevant systematic reviews.”
Lord Howe said: “The National Institute for Health Research is committed to providing the best possible evidence to inform decisions and choices for health and social care.”
“I am therefore delighted
that the NIHR is leading the international research community by making registration
a requirement for all those researchers it commissions to undertake systematic
reviews.”
Professor Dame Sally Davies, Director General of Research and Development at the Department of Health said: “We are supporting the development of PROSPERO because we think it’s important to establish mechanisms that guarantee integrity and maintain quality standards.”
Welcoming the international
focus of the new initiative, Dame Sally said: “Duplication of systematic
reviews is common place and it is increasingly important that knowledge is
shared efficiently to maximise the use of available research resources
worldwide.”
Notes to editors:
- Systematic reviews provide the best quality evidence to support decision making in health and social care for policy and practice. Systematic reviews adhere to a strict scientific design based on explicit, pre-specified and reproducible methods. When carried out well, they provide reliable estimates about the effects of interventions.
- PROSPERO is a prospective register of systematic reviews of health and social care interventions produced and maintained by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/
- The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination is part of the National Institute for Health Research and a department of the University of York. The Centre produces and disseminates systematic reviews and associated economic analyses that evaluate the effects of health and social care interventions, and the delivery and organisation of health care. www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd . Further information can be obtained from Paul Wilson, Tel: 01904 321040 or Email: paul.wilson@york.ac.uk
- The National Institute for Health Research
provides the framework through which the research staff and research
infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a
national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure
it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its
partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim
is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working
in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge
research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk
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