Although secondary data analyses have been established in recent years in health research, explicit recommendations for standardized, transparent and complete reporting of secondary data analyses do not exist as yet. Therefore, between 2009 and 2014, a first proposal for a specific reporting standard for secondary data analysis was developed (STROSA 1). Parallel to this national process in Germany, an international reporting standard for routine data analysis was initiated in 2013 (RECORD). Nevertheless, because of the specific characteristics of the German health care system as well as specific data protection requirements, the need for a specific German reporting standard for secondary data analyses became evident. Therefore, STROSA was revised and tested by a task force of 15 experts from the working group Collection and Use of Secondary Data (AGENS) of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP) and the German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi) as well as from the working group Validation and Linkage of Secondary Data of the German Network for Health Services Research (DNVF). The consensus STROSA-2 checklist includes 27 criteria, which should be met in the reporting of secondary data analysis from Germany. The criteria have been illustrated and clarified with specific explanations and examples of good practice. The STROSA reporting standard aims at stimulating a wider scientific discussion on the practicability and completeness of the checklist. After further discussions and possibly resulting modifications, STROSA shall be implemented as a reporting standard for secondary data analyses from Germany. This will guarantee standardized and complete information on secondary data analyses enabling assessment of their internal and external validity.
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