title: Methods and Processes of Developing the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-Veterinary (STROBE-Vet) Statement.
abstract: Reporting of observational studies in veterinary research presents challenges that often are not addressed in published reporting guidelines. Our objective was to develop an extension of the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement that addresses unique reporting requirements for observational studies in veterinary medicine related to health, production, welfare, and food safety. We conducted a consensus meeting with 17 experts in Mississauga, Canada. Experts completed a premeeting survey about whether items in the STROBE statement should be modified or added to address unique issues related to observational studies in animal species with health, production, welfare, or food safety outcomes. During the meeting, each STROBE item was discussed to determine whether or not rewording was recommended, and whether additions were warranted. Anonymous voting was used to determine consensus. Six items required no modifications or additions. Modifications or additions were made to the STROBE items 1 (title and abstract), 3 (objectives), 5 (setting), 6 (participants), 7 (variables), 8 (data sources and measurement), 9 (bias), 10 (study size), 12 (statistical methods), 13 (participants), 14 (descriptive data), 15 (outcome data), 16 (main results), 17 (other analyses), 19 (limitations), and 22 (funding). The methods and processes used were similar to those used for other extensions of the STROBE statement. The use of this STROBE statement extension should improve reporting of observational studies in veterinary research by recognizing unique features of observational studies involving food-producing and companion animals, products of animal origin, aquaculture, and wildlife.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.|Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sargeant
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: Centre for Veterinary Epidemiological Research, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada C1A 4P3.
authors.forename: I R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Dohoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: H N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Erb
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cevallos
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Egger
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, DK-1353, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ersbøll
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Section for Animal Welfare and Disease Control, University of Copenhagen, 1017 Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Pearl
authors.affiliation: Department of Production and Population Health, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London NW1 0TU, UK.
authors.forename: D U
authors.initials: DU
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada C1A 4P3.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.affiliation: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, College Park, Maryland 20740, USA.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Torrence
authors.affiliation: Unit for Genomic Epidemiology, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vigre
authors.affiliation: Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5B4.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Waldner
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia 2006.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017756:Aquaculture; D002170:Canada; D059022:Food Safety; D019370:Observation; D011643:Publishing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires