The PRISMA 2020 items are relevant for mixed-methods systematic reviews (which include quantitative and qualitative studies), but reporting guidelines addressing the presentation and synthesis of qualitative data should also be consulted. PRISMA 2020 is intended for use in systematic reviews that include synthesis (such as pairwise meta-analysis or other statistical synthesis methods) or do not include synthesis (for example, because only one eligible study is identified).

However, the checklist items are applicable to reports of systematic reviews evaluating other non-health-related interventions (for example, social or educational interventions), and many items are applicable to systematic reviews with objectives other than evaluating interventions (such as evaluating aetiology, prevalence, or prognosis). The PRISMA 2020 statement has been designed primarily for systematic reviews of studies that evaluate the effects of health interventions, irrespective of the design of the included studies.

Matthew J Page, senior research fellow, 1 David Moher, director and professor, 2 Patrick M Bossuyt, professor, 3 Isabelle Boutron, professor, 4 Tammy C Hoffmann, professor, 5 Cynthia D Mulrow, professor, 6 Larissa Shamseer, doctoral student, 7 Jennifer M Tetzlaff, research product specialist, 8 Elie A Akl, professor, 9 Sue E Brennan, senior research fellow, 1 Roger Chou, professor, 10 Julie Glanville, associate director, 11 Jeremy M Grimshaw, professor, 12 Asbjørn Hróbjartsson, professor, 13 Manoj M Lalu, associate scientist and assistant professor, 14 Tianjing Li, associate professor, 15 Elizabeth W Loder, professor, 16 Evan Mayo-Wilson, associate professor, 17 Steve McDonald, senior research fellow, 1 Luke A McGuinness, research associate, 18 Lesley A Stewart, professor and director, 19 James Thomas, professor, 20 Andrea C Tricco, scientist and associate professor, 21 Vivian A Welch, associate professor, 22 Penny Whiting, associate professor, 18 and Joanne E McKenzie, associate professor 1

First Impressions by Sarah Baethge