Equity issues were not fully addressed in Cochrane human immunodeficiency virus systematic reviews.
To describe and summarize equity reporting in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) systematic reviews and explore the extent to which equity issues are addressed and reported in HIV reviews using the PROGRESS Plus framework.



Application of the PROGRESS Plus framework to a bibliometric analysis of HIV reviews in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.



The analysis included 103 reviews published as of March 2014, with a median of five studies per review (first quartile; Q1 = 2; third quartile; Q3 = 11). Reporting of PROGRESS Plus factors was as follows: Place of residence (low, middle, and high income; 55.3%), place of residence (urban or rural; 24.3%), race or ethnicity (20.4%), occupation (10.7%), gender (65.0%), religion (1.9%), education (7.8%), socioeconomic position (10.7%), social networks and capital (1.0%), age (1.9%), and sexual orientation (3.8%).



Gaps in the reporting of relevant equity indicators were identified within Cochrane HIV systematic review indicating that research is not consistently conducted through an equity lens. There is a need to incorporate PROGRESS Plus factors into both primary and secondary studies.
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1; Biostatistics Unit, Father Sean O'Sullivan Research Centre, St Joseph's Healthcare, 50 Charlton Ave E, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 4A6.
Theresa
T
Aves
Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa.
Tamara
T
Kredo
Centre for Global Health, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, 43 Bruyère St, Annex E, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 5C8.
Vivian
V
Welch
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1.
Sara
S
Mursleen
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1.
Stephanie
S
Ross
Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa; Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, PO Box 241, Cape Town 800, South Africa.
Babalwa
B
Zani
Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa; Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, PO Box 241, Cape Town 800, South Africa.
Nkengafac Villyen
NV
Motaze
Bruyère Continuing Care, Bruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa, 43 Bruyère Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 5C8.
Leah
L
Quinlan
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1; Biostatistics Unit, Father Sean O'Sullivan Research Centre, St Joseph's Healthcare, 50 Charlton Ave E, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 4A6. Electronic address: mbuagblc@mcmaster.ca.
Lawrence
L
Mbuagbaw
D015706:Bibliometrics; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000069576:Health Equity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
Bibliometric analysis; Cochrane; Equity; HIV research; PROGRESS plus; Systematic reviews