Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
BMC Med Res Methodol. 2021 Sep 12;21(1):184. doi: 10.1186/s12874-021-01363-1.
Reviews of qualitative studies allow for deeper understanding of concepts and findings beyond the single qualitative studies. Concerns on study reporting quality led to the publication of the COREQ-guidelines for qualitative studies in 2007, followed by the ENTREQ-guidelines for qualitative reviews in 2012. The aim of this meta-review is to: 1) investigate the uptake of the COREQ- and ENTREQ- checklists in qualitative reviews; and 2) compare the quality of reporting of the primary qualitative studies included within these reviews prior- and post COREQ-publication.
Reviews were searched on 02-Sept-2020 and categorized as (1) COREQ- or (2) ENTREQ-using, (3) using both, or (4) non-COREQ/ENTREQ. Proportions of usage were calculated over time. COREQ-scores of the primary studies included in these reviews were compared prior- and post COREQ-publication using T-test with Bonferroni correction.
1.695 qualitative reviews were included (222 COREQ, 369 ENTREQ, 62 both COREQ/ENTREQ and 1.042 non-COREQ/ENTREQ), spanning 12 years (2007-2019) demonstrating an exponential publication rate. The uptake of the ENTREQ in reviews is higher than the COREQ (respectively 28% and 17%), and increases over time. COREQ-scores could be extracted from 139 reviews (including 2.775 appraisals). Reporting quality improved following the COREQ-publication with 13 of the 32 signalling questions showing improvement; the average total score increased from 15.15 to 17.74 (p-value < 0.001).
The number of qualitative reviews increased exponentially, but the uptake of the COREQ and ENTREQ was modest overall. Primary qualitative studies show a positive trend in reporting quality, which may have been facilitated by the publication of the COREQ.
对定性研究的综述可以深入了解单个定性研究之外的概念和发现。对研究报告质量的关注导致了 2007 年 COREQ 定性研究指南的发布，随后于 2012 年发布了 ENTREQ 定性综述指南。本次荟萃综述的目的是：1）调查 COREQ 和 ENTREQ 清单在定性综述中的应用情况；2）比较 COREQ 发布前后纳入这些综述的主要定性研究的报告质量。
于 2020 年 9 月 2 日检索综述，并根据以下标准进行分类：1）使用 COREQ 或 2）使用 ENTREQ，3）同时使用 COREQ 和 ENTREQ，或 4）不使用 COREQ/ENTREQ。按时间计算使用比例。使用 T 检验和 Bonferroni 校正比较纳入这些综述的原始研究的 COREQ 评分，比较 COREQ 发布前后的评分。
共纳入 1695 篇定性综述（222 篇 COREQ，369 篇 ENTREQ，62 篇同时使用 COREQ/ENTREQ，1042 篇不使用 COREQ/ENTREQ），涵盖 12 年（2007-2019 年），呈指数级发表率。综述中 ENTREQ 的应用率高于 COREQ（分别为 28%和 17%），且呈上升趋势。从 139 篇综述（包括 2775 次评估）中提取了 COREQ 评分。COREQ 发布后，报告质量有所提高，32 个信号问题中有 13 个得到改善；平均总分从 15.15 增加到 17.74（p 值<0.001）。
定性综述的数量呈指数级增长，但 COREQ 和 ENTREQ 的应用率总体上并不高。原始定性研究的报告质量呈上升趋势，这可能得益于 COREQ 的发布。
