Endorsement of guidelines for reporting economic evaluation studies by Spanish biomedical journals

OBJECTIVE: To examine the endorsement of reporting guidelines for economic evaluation studies, such as the CHEERS (Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards) statement, by Spanish biomedical journals. METHOD: Cross-sectional analysis of the instructions to authors of Spanish biomedical journals included in the Journal Citation Reports 2017. Two authors examined and extracted the following information: mention of any reporting guideline, the CHEERS statement, the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Directors (ICMJE) and the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) network. RESULTS: Of the 28 journals included, 23 (82.1%; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 63.1-93.9%) mentioned at least one reporting guideline in the instructions to authors. Only one journal mentioned the CHEERS statement for health economic evaluations. Twenty-four journals (85.7%; 95%CI: 67.3-96.0%) mentioned the ICMJE recommendations and 8 (28.6%; 95%CI: 13.2-48.7%) mentioned the EQUATOR network. The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement for clinical trials was the most- mentioned reporting guideline (n=21; 75.0%; 95%CI: 55.1-89.3%). DISCUSSION: Most of the instructions to authors do not provide guidance on how to report economic evaluations. Journals should support compliance with reporting guidelines by authors and peer-reviewers.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; Universidad de Ottawa; Fundación Instituto de Investigación en Servicios de Salud. M. Ridao y E. Bernal-Delgado han recibido financiación parcial del Instituto de Salud Carlos III, a través de la beca RD16/0001/0007, de la Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas (REDISSEC). D. Moher ha recibido financiación parcial de la Cátedra de Investigación de la Universidad de Ottawa, Canadá. La Fundación Instituto de Investigación en Servicios de Salud, Valencia, se ha hecho cargo de los gastos de publicación que permiten el acceso abierto a este artículo.S