Adherence of SARS-CoV-2 seroepidemiologic studies to the ROSES-S reporting guideline during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Complete reporting of seroepidemiologic studies is paramount to inform public health decision-making. The Reporting of Seroepidemiologic studies-SARS-CoV-2 (ROSES-S) guideline is a checklist that guides the reporting of SARS-CoV-2 seroepidemiological studies. Adherence of SARS-CoV-2 seroepidemiologic studies to the ROSES-S guideline has not yet been evaluated. Objectives: Evaluate SARS-CoV-2 seroepidemiologic study reporting by assessing adherence to the ROSES-S reporting guideline; determine whether publication of the ROSES-S guideline was associated with reporting completeness; and identify study characteristics associated with reporting completeness. Methods: A stratified random sample of SARS-CoV-2 seroepidemiologic studies was evaluated for adherence to the ROSES-S guideline. Study adherence to each reporting item was categorized as "reported", "not reported", or "not applicable". Percent adherence per reporting item and the median and interquartile range (IQR) adherence were reported across all items and by item domain. Beta regression analyses examined if study characteristics were associated with changes in the overall adherence scores. Results: 199 studies were analyzed. Median adherence to reporting items was 48.1% (IQR 40.0%-55.2%) per study, with no significant changes before and after guideline publication. Article publication source (p<0.001), study risk of bias (p=0.001), and sampling method (p=0.004) were associated with adherence to the ROSES-S guideline. Conclusions: There was suboptimal reporting in SARS-CoV-2 seroepidemiologic studies, which was associated with key study characteristics. Publication of the ROSES-S guideline was not associated with changes in reporting practices. Given the importance of complete reporting for the utility of seroprevalence data, authors should improve reporting. ### Competing Interest Statement No funding source had any role in the design of this study, its execution, analyses, interpretation of the data, or decision to submit results. This manuscript does not necessarily reflect the views of the World Health Organization or any other funders. ### Clinical Protocols ### Funding Statement SeroTracker receives funding for SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study evidence synthesis from the Public Health Agency of Canada through Canada's COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, the World Health Organization Health Emergencies Programme, the Robert Koch Institute, and the Canadian Medical Association Joule Innovation Fund. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials. The corresponding author may be contacted for all other requests.