Management of evidence and conflict of interest in guidelines on early childhood allergy prevention and child nutrition: study protocol of a systematic synthesis of guidelines and explorative network analysis

Katharina Sieferle; Corinna Schaefer; Eva Maria Bitzer

doi:10.12688/f1000research.123571.2

Management of evidence and conflict of interest in guidelines on early childhood allergy prevention and child nutrition: study protocol of a systematic synthesis of guidelines and explorative network analysis

F1000Res. 2023 Dec 27:11:1290. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.123571.2. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Katharina Sieferle¹, Corinna Schaefer², Eva Maria Bitzer¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health and Health Education, Pädagogische Hochschule, Freiburg, 79117, Germany.
² Agency for Quality in Medicine, Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Background: With the rising prevalence of allergic diseases in children, prevention of childhood allergies becomes an important public health issue. Recently, a paradigm shift is taking place in the approach to preventing allergies, and clinical practice guidelines (CPG) and food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) play an important role in providing practitioners with the latest evidence and reliable guidance. However, concern about the methodological quality of the development of FBDGs and CPGs, including limitations in the systematic reviews, lack of transparency and unmanaged conflicts of interest (COI), reduce the trust in these guidelines.

Methods: We aim to synthesize the available guidance on early childhood allergy prevention (ECAP) through a systematic search for national and international CPGs and FBDGs concerning ECAP and child nutrition (CN) and to assess the quality of the guidelines and management of COI. Additionally, we will analyse the content and the evidence base of the recommendation statements. We aim to quantify the COI in guideline panellists and explore possible associations between COI and recommendations. Through a social network analysis, we expect to elucidate ties between panellists, researchers, institutions, industry and other sponsors. Guidelines are an important tool to inform healthcare practitioners with the newest evidence, but quality and reliability have to be high. This study will help identify potential for further improvement in the development of guidelines and the management of COI. If the social network analysis proves feasible and reveals more information on COI in comparison to disclosed COI from the previous analyses, the methodology can be developed further to identify undisclosed COIs in panelists.

Ethics and dissemination: This research does not require ethical approval because no human subjects are involved. Results will be published in international peer-reviewed open access journals and via presentations at scientific conferences.

Keywords: Early childhood allergy prevention; clinical practice guideline; conflict of interest; food-based dietary guideline.

MeSH terms

Child
Child, Preschool
Conflict of Interest*
Food
Humans
Hypersensitivity* / prevention & control
Practice Guidelines as Topic*
Public Health
Reproducibility of Results

Associated data

figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.21501462.v1

Grants and funding

This work is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation, grant number: FOR 2959 BI 755/2-1) and is a subproject of the HELICAP Research Group on ECAP-related health literacy (https://www.helicap.org). The funding body was not involved in the study design; the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data and/or in the writing of the protocol. The article processing charge was funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts and the Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg in the funding programme Open Access Publishing.