Standardized Reporting Of Agreement Evaluation Using Bland-Altman Method

Background and objectiveWith the promotion and application in medical and health fields,the reporting quality of Bland-Altman method in agreement evaluation is still low.Although more and more domestic and international scholars are aware of the importance and necessity of improving the reporting quality of the Bland-Altman method in agreement evaluation and even the basic items that the research report should contain had been suggested by some scholars,the items are too general and unable to adapt.This study is to develop a systematic,comprehensive standardized reporting for Bland-Altman method as guidance for the correct application to improve the reporting quality of agreement evaluation.MethodsA research group is launched to work on the standardized reporting for agreement evaluation of Bland-Altman method.Early in the study,we carry out articles review,regular meetings,consulting peers,systematic review,integrating and extracting items.Then,we invite a multi-disciplinary panel of experts to improve the design and review the report items by brainstorming method.Multiple rounds of expert consultations are also conducted with reference to Delphi method to integrate expert advice and form the basic framework of reporting items.Finally,through the thorough analysis and demonstration,we protocol the reporting items for the agreement evaluation of Bland-Altman method(RiBAM)as the recommended report item(RiBAM recommendation)are developed with the explanation and elaboration(E&E)document.ResultsOur study summarize the status quo of reporting agreement evaluation for Bland-Altman method in international medical and health fields;systematically evaluate the quality of the relevant literature published by Chinese medical journals in the past three years,and develop the RiBAM recommendation consisting of 17 first-level items and 23 second-level items with the E&E document.ConclusionsFor the moment,the reporting for agreement evaluation of Bland-Altman method at both home and abroad is of poor quality.Our RiBAM recommendation is more comprehensive and systematic as an important reference for the report by avoiding the clear integrity and transparency of the report.The E&E document for RiBAM recommendation helps writing the items properly.Our study not only helps the researchers to improve the quality of Bland-Altman method application reporting,but also makes great contributions for the medical journal editors,the peer reviewers and the readers to evaluate and understanding of the research reports more scientifically and objectively.Our study also plays an active role in improving research design,conduct,and analysis for Bland-Altman method.