A systematic mapping and bibliometric analysis of systematic reviews of health economic evaluations: A protocol

Abstract Background: Systematic reviews of health economic evaluations (SR-HEs) provide a critical tool for synthesizing published literature to guide decision makers towards implementing evidence-based policy and healthcare practice. However, the quality of the methodology and reporting of SRs is often flawed due to insufficiencies in their design, conduct and reporting. Meta-research has led to methodological improvements in many research fields but is not widely established in health economic evidence synthesis. To enable future meta-research on SR-HEs, we will create a database of SR-HEs and provide a bibliometric analysis of this literature. Methods: We will perform a systematic search in MEDLINE for systematic reviews with/without meta-analyses of health economic evaluations. We will include studies that performed a systematic review of cost-effectiveness, cost-minimization, cost-utility, cost-benefit, and/or cost-consequence analyses. We will automatically extract data from Ovid MEDLINE and Web of Science to conduct a bibliometric analysis by examining publication, citation, and collaboration patterns. Discussion: Our study will provide a map of SR-HEs accompanied by a thorough bibliographic analysis of this research field. Our publicly accessible database can be used to assist future research and meta-research efforts in the field of health economics. Our bibliometric analysis will provide insights into the evolution of this research field over the years in terms of publications, citations, and scientific collaborations. Preregistration: 10.17605/OSF.IO/PV6XJ