{"id":50861,"date":"2025-05-16T22:35:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T16:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/?p=50861"},"modified":"2025-10-28T18:26:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T12:26:21","slug":"prisma-checklist-systematic-reviews-meta-analyses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/prisma-checklist-systematic-reviews-meta-analyses\/","title":{"rendered":"The PRISMA Guidelines: Reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"92\" data-end=\"509\">Systematic reviews and meta-analyses play a crucial role in synthesizing research to guide evidence-based healthcare decisions. However, poor reporting practices can lead to misinterpretations and weaken the impact of these studies. To address this, the <em data-start=\"346\" data-end=\"414\">Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses<\/em> (PRISMA) guidelines were developed to support <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC6461330\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">transparent, complete, and consistent reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"511\" data-end=\"928\">First introduced in 2009 and updated in<a href=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/65b880e13b6ca75573dfe217\/t\/67ad313f1c80aa5235fce0d0\/1739403584136\/PRISMA_2020_checklist.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> 2020<\/a>, the PRISMA statement includes a 27-item checklist that outlines key elements to be reported across all sections of a systematic review\u2014ranging from the title and abstract to methods, results, discussion, and disclosures such as funding sources. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/bmj\/372\/bmj.n71.full.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"broken_link\">goal is to promote high-quality reporting<\/a> and help readers critically evaluate the validity and relevance of the findings.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"930\" data-end=\"964\">Why Use the PRISMA Guidelines?<\/h3>\n<ul data-start=\"966\" data-end=\"1405\">\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"966\" data-end=\"1118\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"968\" data-end=\"1118\"><strong data-start=\"968\" data-end=\"993\">Greater Transparency:<\/strong> The checklist helps authors clearly and thoroughly describe their methodology and results, improving reader comprehension.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1119\" data-end=\"1251\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1121\" data-end=\"1251\"><strong data-start=\"1121\" data-end=\"1146\">Stronger Credibility:<\/strong> Consistent reporting builds confidence in the findings among readers, practitioners, and policymakers.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1252\" data-end=\"1405\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1254\" data-end=\"1405\"><strong data-start=\"1254\" data-end=\"1282\">Streamlined <a href=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/publication-support-services\/peer-review-process\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"115\" title=\"Peer Review\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Peer Review<\/a>:<\/strong> The structured format enables peer reviewers to efficiently assess whether the review meets essential reporting standards.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1431\" data-end=\"1785\">Researchers aiming to improve the quality of their systematic reviews are encouraged to consult our <a href=\"https:\/\/app.monstercampaigns.com\/c\/plfgj1nlivdcfkds9z9r\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PRISMA Checklist<\/a>. This tool guides authors through each component of a systematic review, ensuring that their work aligns with rigorous reporting practices and contributes meaningfully to the scientific community.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1431\" data-end=\"1785\">For a broader perspective on reporting guidelines,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/research-reporting-guide-prisma-consort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> check out our comparative analysis of STROBE, CONSORT, PRISMA, and ACORD,<\/a> where we break down their key differences and applications in research.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display:flex; gap:10px;justify-content:\" class=\"wps-pgfw-pdf-generate-icon__wrapper-frontend\">\n\t\t<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50861?action=genpdf&amp;id=50861\" class=\"pgfw-single-pdf-download-button\" ><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-generator-for-wp\/admin\/src\/images\/PDF_Tray.svg\" title=\"Generate PDF\" style=\"width:auto; height:45px;\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\"><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Systematic reviews and meta-analyses play a crucial role in synthesizing research to guide evidence-based healthcare&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12426,"featured_media":50862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1579],"tags":[1637],"ppma_author":[1968],"class_list":["post-50861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enago-academy-creatives","tag-reporting-guidelines"],"better_featured_image":{"id":50862,"alt_text":"prisma checklist","caption":"","description":"","media_type":"image","media_details":{"width":910,"height":340,"file":"2025\/05\/FeatureImages-66.png","filesize":304369,"sizes":{},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0","keywords":[]}},"post":50861,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FeatureImages-66.png"},"acf":{"faq_main_heading":"","faq_heading_one":"","faq_heading_two":"","faq_heading_three":"","faq_heading_four":"","faq_heading_five":"","faq_heading_six":"","faq_description_one":"","faq_description_two":"","faq_description_three":"","faq_description_four":"","faq_description_five":"","faq_description_six":""},"views":588,"single_webinar_page_date":null,"single_webinar_page_time":null,"session_agenda":null,"who_should_attend_this_session":null,"about_the_speaker_field":null,"co-webinar-sec":null,"co_webinar_sec_one":null,"speaker-name":null,"webinar-date":null,"webinar-time":null,"webinar-s-image":null,"custum_webinar_category":null,"authors":[{"term_id":1968,"user_id":12426,"is_guest":0,"slug":"rebecca","display_name":"Dr. Rebecca D'souza","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rebecca.png","url2x":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rebecca.png"},"author_category":"1","user_url":"","last_name":"D'Souza","first_name":"Rebecca","job_title":"","description":"Rebecca D'souza is an Associate Content Expert at Enago Academy, where she develops insightful content to support researchers and academics in scholarly publishing. With a PhD in Biological Sciences, she specializes in cancer biology and molecular oncology and has presented her work at international and national conferences. Previously, she worked as a Medical Writer, gaining expertise in scientific communication.\r\n\r\nShe has a strong research background and a deep understanding of the evolving academic landscape. Passionate about open science, research integrity, and science communication, she is committed to making high-quality academic resources more accessible."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12426"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50861"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50880,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50861\/revisions\/50880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50861"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=50861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}