23.02.11
Global health research register launched
A global register to improve the transparency of health research has been launched by the Government.
PROSPERO is a free, publicly-accessible online facility that registers systematic reviews for research about health and social care from across the world.
It was launched by health minister Lord Howe, who said: “The National Institute for Health Research is committed to providing the best possible evidence to inform decisions and choices for health and social care.
“I am therefore delighted that the National Institute for Health Research is leading the international research community by making registration a requirement for all those researchers it commissions to undertake systematic reviews.”
The register is designed to avoid the duplication of health research and will act as a guard against selective reporting of research.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, director general of research and development at the Department of Health, said: “We are supporting the development of PROSPERO because we think it’s important to establish mechanisms that guarantee integrity and maintain quality standards.
“I am also delighted that PROSPERO has been designed so it can be used internationally to promote best practice around the world. Duplication of systematic reviews is commonplace and it is increasingly important that knowledge is shared efficiently to maximise the use of available research resources worldwide.”
Professor Lesley Stewart, Director of the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, said:
“A prospective register of systematic reviews submitted at the protocol stage will increase transparency and guard against selective reporting; making it obvious if the research that is published differs from what was planned at the outset.
“We have been delighted by the enthusiastic international response to the development of PROSPERO, having elicited support for registration from CIHR, INAHTA, NICE, the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations and the Joanna Briggs initiative. This is truly an international collaborative effort.”
The DH-funded Centre for Reviews and Dissemination is part of the National Institute for Health Research and a department of the University of York.
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