Addressing racial and ethnic health equity in systematic reviews and evidence-based guidelines

Abstract

Systematic reviews and other evidence synthesis products support clinical practice guidelines, policy and coverage decisions, and future research directions. These products can help promote health equity by examining why differences in outcomes exist, how underrepresentation or overrepresentation in the evidence affects generalizability, and how to address underlying societal sources of disparities. This article provides an overview of and background for a series of articles sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The series focuses on racial and ethnic health equity as one approach to enhance the utility of systematic reviews in addressing inequities. Together, the articles in the series address what end users of systematic reviews, specifically guideline developers, have done thus far; how best to methodologically address racial health equity; and what steps to take next.