Overlapping research efforts in a global pandemic: a rapid systematic review of COVID-19-related individual participant data meta-analyses.

Background: Individual participant data meta-analyses (IPD-MAs), which involve harmonising and analysing participant-level data from related studies, provide several advantages over aggregate data meta-analyses, which pool study-level findings. IPD-MAs are especially important for building and evaluating diagnostic and prognostic models, making them an important tool for informing the research and public health responses to COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a rapid systematic review of protocols and publications from planned, ongoing, or completed COVID-19-related IPD-MAs to identify areas of overlap and maximise data request and harmonisation efforts.

Guidance for ensuring fair and ethical broad consent for future use. A scoping review protocol.

Broad consent for future use is the reuse of data and/or samples collected by a study by researchers who may not be affiliated with the original study team for purposes that may differ from the objectives of the original study. Sharing participant-level data and samples collected from research participants facilitates reuse and transparency and can accelerate drug or vaccine development, research findings, and translation. Data reuse and synthesis help prevent unnecessary research, thereby respecting research participants time and efforts and building their trust in the research process.