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The Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of health research Network ( EQUATOR Network ) is an international initiative aimed at promoting transparent and accurate reporting of health research studies to enhance the value and reliability of medical research literature. The EQUATOR Network was established with the goals of raising awareness of the importance of good reporting of research, assisting in the development, dissemination and implementation of reporting guidelines for different types of study designs, monitoring the status of the quality of reporting of research studies in the health sciences literature, and conducting research relating to issues that impact the quality of reporting of health research studies. The Network acts as an "umbrella" organisation, bringing together developers of reporting guidelines, medical journal editors and peer reviewers, research funding bodies, and other key stakeholders with a mutual interest in improving the quality of research publications and research itself. The EQUATOR Network comprises five centres at the University of Birmingham (UK, Professor Gary Collins), Bond University (Australia, Professor Paul Glasziou and Professor Tammy Hoffman), Paris Descartes University (France, Professor Philippe Ravaud), Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (Canada, Professor David Moher), and Hong Kong Baptiste University (China, Professor Zhaoxiang Bian).
The first international working meeting of the EQUATOR Network took place in Oxford in 2006 and was attended by 27 participants from 10 countries.History: EQUATOR Network; [Available from: http://www.equator-network.org/about-us/history/ . Participants at this meeting were reporting guidelines developers, journal editors, peer reviewers, medical writers and research funders. The meeting served as a venue to exchange experiences among participants in developing, using and implementing reporting guidelines and prioritize the main activities that were necessary for the successful start of the EQUATOR Network's efforts.
The EQUATOR Network was formally launched on 26 June 2008 at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, UK. The event also hosted the 1st EQUATOR Annual Lecture presented by Sir Iain Chalmers. In that meeting, the results of a study by Iveta Simera, Doug Altman, David Moher, Kenneth Schulz and John Hoey, were presented, and published two years later. The study identified the need for a coordinated work between publishers, researchers and funders to improve the quality of the research output.
Since then, the EQUATOR Network has held annual lectures that have been held in Vancouver (Canada) in 2009, Oxford (UK) in 2010, Bristol (UK) in 2011, and Freiburg (Germany) in 2012.
Additional guidelines are available for practical issues relevant to the reporting of health research:
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