The CROWN initiative: journal editors invite researchers to develop core outcomes in women's health.

KHAN, K; BELIZÁN JM

Reproductive Health

BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2014

1742-4755

Abstract Clinical trials, systematic reviews and guidelines compare beneficial and non-beneficial outcomes following interventions. Often, however, various studies on a particular topic do not address the same outcomes, making it difficult to draw clinically useful conclusions when a group of studies is looked at as a whole. This problem was recently thrown into sharp focus by a systematic review of interventions for preterm birth prevention, which found that among 103 randomised trials, no fewer than 72 different outcomes were reported. There is a growing recognition among clinical researchers that this variability undermines consistent synthesis of the evidence, and that what is needed is an agreed standardised collection of outcomes - a "core outcomes set" - for all trials in a specific clinical area. Recognising that the current inconsistency is a serious hindrance to progress in our specialty, the editors of over 50 journals related to women´s health have come together to support The CROWN (CoRe Outcomes in WomeN´s health) Initiative.