title: 'TIDieR-ing up' the reporting of interventions in stroke research: the importance of knowing what is in the 'black box'.
abstract: Evidence-based interventions cannot be provided unless there is a clear understanding of what the intervention is. Many published randomized trials, systematic reviews, and guidelines contain incomplete intervention descriptions. For non-pharmacological interventions, such as stroke rehabilitation, the reporting is particularly poor. Contributors to this problem include lack of attention to this issue and awareness of what constitutes a complete intervention description by authors, reviewers, journals, and editors. Part of the solution is for authors to follow guidance about how to describe interventions, such as the Template for Intervention Description and Replication statement. Improving stroke interventions reporting will remove one of the current barriers to evidence-based care.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.|School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Tammy C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: Marion F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D019468:Disease Management; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D006801:Humans; D020521:Stroke / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: CONSORT; TIDieR; clinical trial; intervention; rehabilitation; stroke