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Revisiting the Quality of Reporting Randomized Controlled Trials in Nursing Literature
Author(s) -
Adams Yenupini Joyce,
Kamp Kendra,
Liu Cheng Ching,
Stommel Manfred,
Thana Kanjana,
Broome Marion E.,
Smith Barbara
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 1527-6546
DOI - 10.1111/jnu.12368
Subject(s) - consolidated standards of reporting trials , randomized controlled trial , checklist , medicine , descriptive statistics , psychological intervention , medline , nursing research , research design , family medicine , alternative medicine , nursing , psychology , statistics , surgery , mathematics , pathology , political science , law , cognitive psychology , social science , sociology
Purpose To examine and update the literature on the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as reported in top nursing journals, based on manuscripts’ adherence to the CONsolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines. Design Descriptive review of adherence of RCT manuscript to CONSORT guidelines. Methods Top 40 International Scientific Indexing (ISI) ranked nursing journals that published 20 or more RCTs between 2010 and 2014, were included in the study. Selected articles were randomly assigned to four reviewers who assessed the quality of the articles using the CONSORT checklist. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings A total of 119 articles were included in the review. The mean CONSORT score significantly differed by journal but did not differ based on year of publication. The least consistently reported items included random allocation, who randomly assigned participants and whether those administering the interventions were blinded to group assignment. Conclusions Although progress has been made, there is still room for improvement in the quality of RCT reporting in nursing journals. Special attention must be paid to how adequately studies adhere to the CONSORT prior to publication in nursing journals. Clinical Relevance Evidence from (RCTs) are thought to provide the best evidence for evaluating the impact of treatments and interventions by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Since the evidence may be used for the development of clinical practice guidelines, it is critical that RCTs be designed, conducted, and reported appropriately and precisely.