Facilitating the planning and evaluation of narrative intervention reviews: Systematic Transparency Assessment in Intervention Reviews (STAIR)

Abstract

Narrative reviews offer a flexible way to report intervention results and comprise the majority of reviews published in top medical journals. However variations in their transparency pose evaluation challenges, compromising their value and potentially resulting in research wastage. Calls have been made to reduce the number of narrative reviews published. Others argue narrative reviews provide an important platform and should even be placed on an equal footing to systematic reviews. We believe narrative intervention reviews can provide a vital perspective when transparent, and thus support Systematic Transparency Assessment in Intervention Reviews (STAIR). This research evaluates the transparency of 172 health-related narrative and literature reviews (K = 172), by assessing how they communicate information about the interventions they review. Eight points supporting transparency, relating to sample sizes, traceability, article numbers, and references, were assessed. Half of the reviews reported on at least four of the eight points, but 24% reported on none. Only 56% of the reviews clearly communicated full references. The STAIR* (Sample sizes, Traceability, Article numbers, Intervention numbers, References*) checklist comprises five sections, and nine points. It is proposed as a convenient tool to address STAIR and complement existing review guidelines to assist authors in planning, reviewers in evaluating, and scholars in utilising narrative reviews. The objectives of STAIR* are to: 1) encourage narrative review transparency and readability, 2) facilitate the incorporation of narrative reviews results into other research; and 3) enrich narrative review methodology with a checklist to guide, and evaluate, intervention reviews.