Improving the Reporting Quality of Nonrandomized Evaluations of Behavioral and Public Health Interventions: The TREND Statement

TLDR

Developing an evidence base for public health decisions requires data from both randomized and nonrandomized evaluation studies, and transparent reporting is essential to compare and synthesize these studies. The authors present the initial version of the Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs (TREND) statement. The TREND guidelines emphasize reporting of underlying theories, detailed intervention and comparison descriptions, study design, and methods for adjusting potential biases in nonrandomized evaluations.

Abstract

Developing an evidence base for making public health decisions will require using data from evaluation studies with randomized and nonrandomized designs. Assessing individual studies and using studies in quantitative research syntheses require transparent reporting of the study, with sufficient detail and clarity to readily see differences and similarities among studies in the same area. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement provides guidelines for transparent reporting of randomized clinical trials. We present the initial version of the Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs (TREND) statement. These guidelines emphasize the reporting of theories used and descriptions of intervention and comparison conditions, research design, and methods of adjusting for possible biases in evaluation studies that use nonrandomized designs.