Background Studies published in academic medical journals inform and influence healthcare decisions. Sufficient study reporting is primarily charged to researchers. However, journals can promote more complete reporting of their published studies. Recommending or requiring reporting guideline use and prospective trial registration may ensure published studies adhere to rigorous reporting standards. This study aimed to evaluate ‘instructions to authors’ pages of tropical medicine and infectious disease (TM/ID) journals to assess endorsement of reporting guidelines (RGs) for common medical study designs and clinical trial registration.
Methods Using a cross‐sectional design guided by the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology checklist, we examined the top 100 infectious disease (ID) journals identified by the 2021 Scopus CiteScore tool and the 21 tropical medicine (TM) journals identified by Clarivate Web of Science. Each editorial journal staff was contacted for specific study designs accepted. Data were extracted from journals' ‘instructions to authors’ webpages with any discrepancies being resolved through consensus. We assessed adherence to RGs and clinical trial registration.
Results This study identified 293 TM/ID journals. Among the top 100 ID journals selected (Scopus CiteScore), 2 unfit journals were replaced. Among the 28 TM journals selected (Clarivate Web of Science), 5 were removed due to being duplicates and 2 were removed due to not being published in English. The Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network was cited by 49% of journals, while 85% of journals referenced the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) was most cited (73%), Quality of Reporting of Meta‐analyses was least (2.6%). Clinical trial registration was mentioned by 73% of the journals.
Conclusions TM and ID journals demonstrated suboptimal endorsement of various RGs. Among our findings, however, CONSORT and clinical trial registration garnered over 70% endorsement. We propose journals streamline RGs, establish user‐friendly ‘instructions to authors’ pages and mandate reporting guideline adherence. These insights inform future research on enhancing reporting guideline use and TM/ID research quality.
BT - Tropical Medicine & International Health DO - 10.1111/tmi.14127 IS - 7 LA - eng M3 - Systematic Review N2 -Background Studies published in academic medical journals inform and influence healthcare decisions. Sufficient study reporting is primarily charged to researchers. However, journals can promote more complete reporting of their published studies. Recommending or requiring reporting guideline use and prospective trial registration may ensure published studies adhere to rigorous reporting standards. This study aimed to evaluate ‘instructions to authors’ pages of tropical medicine and infectious disease (TM/ID) journals to assess endorsement of reporting guidelines (RGs) for common medical study designs and clinical trial registration.
Methods Using a cross‐sectional design guided by the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology checklist, we examined the top 100 infectious disease (ID) journals identified by the 2021 Scopus CiteScore tool and the 21 tropical medicine (TM) journals identified by Clarivate Web of Science. Each editorial journal staff was contacted for specific study designs accepted. Data were extracted from journals' ‘instructions to authors’ webpages with any discrepancies being resolved through consensus. We assessed adherence to RGs and clinical trial registration.
Results This study identified 293 TM/ID journals. Among the top 100 ID journals selected (Scopus CiteScore), 2 unfit journals were replaced. Among the 28 TM journals selected (Clarivate Web of Science), 5 were removed due to being duplicates and 2 were removed due to not being published in English. The Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network was cited by 49% of journals, while 85% of journals referenced the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) was most cited (73%), Quality of Reporting of Meta‐analyses was least (2.6%). Clinical trial registration was mentioned by 73% of the journals.
Conclusions TM and ID journals demonstrated suboptimal endorsement of various RGs. Among our findings, however, CONSORT and clinical trial registration garnered over 70% endorsement. We propose journals streamline RGs, establish user‐friendly ‘instructions to authors’ pages and mandate reporting guideline adherence. These insights inform future research on enhancing reporting guideline use and TM/ID research quality.
PB - Wiley PY - 2025 SP - 580 EP - 587 T2 - Tropical Medicine & International Health TI - Endorsement of reporting guidelines and clinical trial registration by tropical medicine and infectious disease journals: A cross‐sectional study UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/tmi.14127?campaign=woletoc VL - 30 SN - 1360-2276, 1365-3156 ER -