WHY ENGLISH?
Report who benefits, who may be missed and whether an intervention changes an unfair difference
A health-equity-relevant randomised trial may focus on people experiencing social disadvantage, compare effects across levels of disadvantage, or do both. English matters because the report must name the disadvantage pathway, define characteristics respectfully and distinguish an overall benefit from a fair distribution of benefit.
CONSORT-Equity 2017 was published in The BMJ in November 2017. It extends 16 CONSORT items and adds a new ethics item for trials where equity is relevant, covering rationale, participant characteristics, recruitment, outcomes, analyses, differential effects, unintended consequences and interpretation.
CONSORT 2025 now supplies the current core reporting framework. The equity extension should be used alongside it until formally aligned. Better reporting can show distribution and uncertainty; it cannot decide by itself which difference is unfair or guarantee that every disadvantaged group was represented.
Article contents
Open all chapters
- 1. Identify Why Equity Is Relevant
- 2. Define the Inequality and Explain Why It May Be Unfair
- 3. Use a Framework for Social Disadvantage
- 4. Describe Community and Knowledge-User Involvement
- 5. Report Eligibility, Recruitment and Representation
- 6. Describe Intervention Access, Uptake and Adaptation
- 7. Define Outcomes and Measures Across Groups
- 8. Prespecify Overall and Differential-Effect Analyses
- 9. Report Baseline Position and Participant Flow by Equity Characteristics
- 10. Present Absolute and Relative Effects With Precision
- 11. Report Unintended Equity Consequences
- 12. Address Ethics, Privacy and Respectful Reporting
- 13. Interpret Evidence Without Turning Groups Into Essences
ORIENTATION
What this guide owns
Current fact check
CONSORT-Equity defines an equity-relevant trial as one focused on a population experiencing social disadvantage, one that explores differences in effects across levels of disadvantage, or both. The 2017 extension adds equity guidance to 16 items and one new ethics item.
Canonical boundary
This article owns reporting of randomised trials where health equity is explicitly relevant. The education public-good article owns broader social-contract questions, while CONSORT 2025 owns generic trial reporting.
Worked example
Every chapter returns to a fictional school wellbeing trial focused on students facing financial disadvantage and prespecified to examine whether access and outcomes differ by household-resource level. It is fictional, low-stakes and educational; it does not report a real school, clinical decision or guaranteed outcome.
Did You Know? For CONSORT-Equity, complete reporting makes appraisal possible but does not perform the appraisal, remove bias or guarantee transfer.
Warm up with eduKate’s guides to explaining scientific evidence and asking better questions in class.
CHAPTER 1 OF 13
1. Identify Why Equity Is Relevant
Why this move matters
State whether the intervention targets a disadvantaged population, tests differential effects or both, and identify the decision this evidence should inform.
Did You Know? Equity relevance begins with a stated rationale and pathway.
Name the equity pathway
State whether the intervention targets a disadvantaged population, tests differential effects or both, and identify the decision this evidence should inform. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The abstract names financial disadvantage and the access gap the programme seeks to reduce. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
Adding demographic tables after analysis does not create an equity objective. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Identify Why Equity Is Relevant”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 2 OF 13
2. Define the Inequality and Explain Why It May Be Unfair
Why this move matters
Describe the observed difference, affected groups, avoidability, social processes and values used to call it an inequity rather than any inequality.
Did You Know? The guideline treats inequity as an unfair difference that reasonable action could avoid.
Name the equity pathway
Describe the observed difference, affected groups, avoidability, social processes and values used to call it an inequity rather than any inequality. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The rationale links household resources to transport, time and access barriers. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
Not every measured difference is automatically unjust or caused by disadvantage. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Define the Inequality and Explain Why It May Be Unfair”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 3 OF 13
3. Use a Framework for Social Disadvantage
Why this move matters
State the relevant characteristics, levels or gradients and why they fit the intervention and context instead of collecting every available variable.
Did You Know? Equity characteristics may intersect rather than act as isolated labels.
Name the equity pathway
State the relevant characteristics, levels or gradients and why they fit the intervention and context instead of collecting every available variable. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: Resource level, housing stability and language access are chosen because they shape participation. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
A long demographic list can still miss the mechanism that matters. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Use a Framework for Social Disadvantage”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 4 OF 13
4. Describe Community and Knowledge-User Involvement
Why this move matters
Report how affected people shaped the question, categories, recruitment, intervention, outcomes, interpretation and dissemination.
Did You Know? The extension was itself developed with diverse knowledge users from high-, middle- and low-income settings.
Name the equity pathway
Report how affected people shaped the question, categories, recruitment, intervention, outcomes, interpretation and dissemination. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: Students and families review recruitment language and acceptable outcome schedules. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
Consultation after all decisions are fixed is not shared design. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Describe Community and Knowledge-User Involvement”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 5 OF 13
5. Report Eligibility, Recruitment and Representation
Why this move matters
Give setting, sampling frame, outreach, exclusions, consent, accessibility support and participant flow across relevant social characteristics.
Did You Know? Representation depends on the whole recruitment pathway, not only eligibility criteria.
Name the equity pathway
Give setting, sampling frame, outreach, exclusions, consent, accessibility support and participant flow across relevant social characteristics. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: Recruitment includes non-digital routes and translated explanations. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
Equal invitation does not guarantee equal ability to participate. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Report Eligibility, Recruitment and Representation”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 6 OF 13
6. Describe Intervention Access, Uptake and Adaptation
Why this move matters
Report whether delivery, cost, timing, transport, technology, language or provider factors differ across groups and whether adaptations were planned.
Did You Know? Equity reporting follows the chain from availability to access, uptake, benefit and sustainability.
Name the equity pathway
Report whether delivery, cost, timing, transport, technology, language or provider factors differ across groups and whether adaptations were planned. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The programme offers transport support and flexible session times, with uptake reported by resource level. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
An intervention can be effective for users while widening inequity through unequal reach. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Describe Intervention Access, Uptake and Adaptation”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 7 OF 13
7. Define Outcomes and Measures Across Groups
Why this move matters
Explain outcome relevance, validity, language, accessibility, timing, measurement equivalence and burden for each important group.
Did You Know? Comparable scores require more than identical questions.
Name the equity pathway
Explain outcome relevance, validity, language, accessibility, timing, measurement equivalence and burden for each important group. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The wellbeing measure is checked for language accessibility and administered through equivalent modes. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
A scale can behave differently across groups even when translated accurately. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Define Outcomes and Measures Across Groups”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 8 OF 13
8. Prespecify Overall and Differential-Effect Analyses
Why this move matters
State main effects, subgroup or gradient analyses, interaction terms, scale, covariates, multiplicity, missing data and whether the trial has power for differential effects.
Did You Know? A differential effect requires a direct comparison, not separate within-group p-values.
Name the equity pathway
State main effects, subgroup or gradient analyses, interaction terms, scale, covariates, multiplicity, missing data and whether the trial has power for differential effects. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The protocol estimates an interaction across prespecified resource levels with uncertainty. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
One significant subgroup and one nonsignificant subgroup do not prove a difference between them. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Prespecify Overall and Differential-Effect Analyses”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 9 OF 13
9. Report Baseline Position and Participant Flow by Equity Characteristics
Why this move matters
Show relevant characteristics, denominators, losses, missingness and intervention exposure without unsafe disclosure of small groups.
Did You Know? Who disappears from the data can change the apparent equity effect.
Name the equity pathway
Show relevant characteristics, denominators, losses, missingness and intervention exposure without unsafe disclosure of small groups. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The flow table shows follow-up across resource levels while suppressing identifiable small cells. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
Complete overall follow-up can hide differential loss. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Report Baseline Position and Participant Flow by Equity Characteristics”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 10 OF 13
10. Present Absolute and Relative Effects With Precision
Why this move matters
Report overall and differential estimates, confidence intervals, suitable absolute measures and the distribution of benefits and harms.
Did You Know? The scale used to describe inequality can change the policy interpretation.
Name the equity pathway
Report overall and differential estimates, confidence intervals, suitable absolute measures and the distribution of benefits and harms. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The report gives the absolute wellbeing change and interaction estimate across the resource gradient. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
Relative equality can coexist with a larger absolute gap. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Present Absolute and Relative Effects With Precision”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 11 OF 13
11. Report Unintended Equity Consequences
Why this move matters
Describe stigma, burden, opportunity cost, exclusion, digital barriers, displacement or benefits captured by already advantaged participants.
Did You Know? Equity analysis asks both who benefits and who bears the costs of participation.
Name the equity pathway
Describe stigma, burden, opportunity cost, exclusion, digital barriers, displacement or benefits captured by already advantaged participants. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: A digital booking system is examined for lower uptake among families with limited connectivity. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
An average benefit can hide a widening access gap. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Report Unintended Equity Consequences”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 12 OF 13
12. Address Ethics, Privacy and Respectful Reporting
Why this move matters
Explain consent, community risks, category governance, privacy, compensation, data access and how language avoids blame or stereotypes.
Did You Know? CONSORT-Equity adds an ethics item because equity-relevant trials can create distinctive group harms.
Name the equity pathway
Explain consent, community risks, category governance, privacy, compensation, data access and how language avoids blame or stereotypes. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The report describes why small cells are not displayed and how participants chose identity terms. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
More granular data can improve understanding while increasing re-identification risk. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Address Ethics, Privacy and Respectful Reporting”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
CHAPTER 13 OF 13
13. Interpret Evidence Without Turning Groups Into Essences
Why this move matters
Separate evidence from values, acknowledge intersectionality and context, avoid causal overreach and state what policy or practice decision the trial can reasonably inform.
Did You Know? Responsible equity reporting makes social mechanisms visible without reducing people to categories.
Name the equity pathway
Separate evidence from values, acknowledge intersectionality and context, avoid causal overreach and state what policy or practice decision the trial can reasonably inform. Explain how social disadvantage may affect access, exposure, adherence, outcomes or intervention benefit, and identify which difference is considered unfair or avoidable.
Follow one distributional comparison
Worked example: The conclusion describes context-specific barriers rather than treating low resources as a personal deficit. Trace recruitment, representation, baseline position, intervention access, outcome measurement, differential effect, uncertainty and possible unintended consequences.
Protect meaningful categories
State who defined the characteristic, how and when it was measured, whether people could self-identify, how small cells were protected and what within-group variation remains.
Interpret without stereotyping
A subgroup average does not predict every individual or travel unchanged to another society. An average subgroup difference does not define every person, prove causation or justify treating a socially constructed category as biological destiny.
Practical reader check
- Point to the exact source or method sentence supporting the claim.
- Name the person, setting, date, input and decision rule that could change its meaning.
- Label the remaining uncertainty reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
Student, parent and career transfer
Make one evidence card for “Interpret Evidence Without Turning Groups Into Essences”: source location, plain-language meaning, limit and next question. A parent or teacher can ask for one everyday explanation and one specialist explanation; both must preserve the same conditions. This habit supports public health, education research, social policy, epidemiology, ethics, programme evaluation and community partnership without promising a grade, admission, funding decision or job.
PRACTICE LAB
Build a equity-distribution decision trail
Student route
- Choose one original report inside this guide’s scope.
- Copy its objective and underline actor, action, context, evidence and intended decision.
- Draw the specific reasoning chain used in this article.
- Mark each step reported, inferred, contested or unknown.
- Rewrite the conclusion so it preserves the narrowest important limitation.
Parent or teacher route
Ask the learner to explain CONSORT-Equity’s central reporting method twice: once to a classmate and once to a method specialist. Praise a precise correction and a well-stated unknown; both show disciplined attention to evidence.
Early-career route
Create a one-page CONSORT-Equity audit with source link, date checked, scope, method logic, decisive wording, contrary evidence, limit and next action. A colleague should be able to continue without guessing.
Decision rule
If a shorter explanation removes the condition that made the original claim true, it is not clearer yet. Restore the condition.
Continue with eduKate’s guides to reading course and career information and giving useful feedback in group projects.
USEFUL NEXT READING
Connect this narrow owner to its neighbour
Read the education as a public good guide for a related but different reader job. Return here when the question is specifically how to report who benefits, who may be missed and whether an intervention changes an unfair difference. This boundary keeps one canonical owner per intent.
For English practice across research, school and career communication, visit the English at work and in public life guide.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions students and parents often ask
What makes a trial equity relevant?
It focuses on people experiencing social disadvantage, examines differential effects across disadvantage, or both.
Is every subgroup analysis an equity analysis?
No. The characteristic, pathway and fairness question must be relevant and prespecified where possible.
Why report absolute as well as relative effects?
The two scales can tell different stories about the size and distribution of inequality.
Can an effective intervention worsen equity?
Yes, if access, uptake or benefit is greater among already advantaged groups.
Why is ethics a separate item?
Equity research can create stigma, privacy risks, exclusion or group harms requiring explicit attention.
Which core guideline applies now?
Use CONSORT 2025 with CONSORT-Equity 2017 until an aligned update is published.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Read the original CONSORT-Equity guidance
Facts were checked against original publications and official records on 6 November 2026. Follow the live source for later corrections, completed updates or companion material.
A cheerful final note
Precise English makes reporting with CONSORT-Equity more useful and more generous, not less. People can see how their evidence and values entered the work, where disagreement remains and what a responsible next step looks like.