The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) is a set of guidelines for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. It was developed by a group of experts in evidence-based medicine and was first published in 2009. The PRISMA guidelines are designed to help authors report their reviews in a clear, transparent, and reproducible way. This is important so that readers can assess the quality of the review and make informed decisions about the evidence.
PRISMA checklist
The PRISMA checklist consists of 27 items that are divided into four sections:
Background: This section outlines the research question and the rationale for the review.
Methods: This section describes the methods used to identify, select, and assess studies for inclusion in the review. It also describes the methods used to analyze the data and synthesize the findings.
Results: This section presents the findings of the review.
Discussion: This section discusses the interpretation of the findings, limitations of the review, and implications for future research or practice.
The PRISMA guidelines have been widely adopted by journals and publishers around the world. They are considered to be the gold standard for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses.