Reporting guideline for overviews of reviews of healthcare interventions: The Preferred Reporting Items for Overviews of Reviews (PRIOR) statement

The publication of systematic reviews has rapidly increased making it challenging to remain apprised of and interpret evidence from their growing number. A newer form of evidence synthesis, overview of reviews, synthesizes evidence from multiple systematic reviews. Authors would benefit from evidence- and consensus-based guidance for the complete and transparent reporting of overviews of reviews; in turn this will improve their reproducibility, trustworthiness, and usefulness for readers and end users (e.g., healthcare providers, healthcare decision-makers, policy-makers, patients/public).The PRIOR statement provides an evidence-based reporting guideline developed using established, rigorous methods that involved a four-stage process (project launch, evidence reviews, modified Delphi exercise, development of the reporting guideline) and an international stakeholder group representing varied experiences (e.g., authors, peer reviewers, editors, readers) and roles (e.g., patients/public, researchers, statisticians, librarians, healthcare professionals, policymakers). The PRIOR statement includes: a checklist with 27 main items that cover all steps and considerations involved in planning and conducting an overview of reviews of healthcare interventions; an explanation and elaboration document with rationale, essential elements, additional elements, and example for each item; and a flow diagram.