Health Minister Lord Howe has launched PROSPERO, a prospective register of systematic reviews of health and social care interventions, which aims to promote transparency and to prevent duplication of research internationally. Developed and maintained by the National Institute for Research Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, and funded by the U.K. Department of Health, PROSPERO is the first international online register for systematic reviews of research about health and social care. Systematic reviews are studies that adhere to strict, pre-specified, and reproducible scientific methods. When properly conducted, systematic reviews form a reliable evidence base to support decision-making in health and social care for health care policymakers, providers, and patients, and also help to ensure quality standards. The register is designed to promote best practices and enable the sharing of research across countries, as well to maximize research resources. PROSPERO is publicly available here: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/.
Source:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/MediaCentre/Pressreleases/DH_124554