How should horizon scanning studies be reported? Developing a checklist of standard items

Introduction Horizon-scanning identifies weak signals of innovation to anticipate future developments, providing strategic value for healthcare decision-making. Unlike evidence synthesis, it addresses emerging and uncertain areas but lacks standardised reporting, limiting transparency, consistency, and impact. Inconsistent terminology and poorly described methods hinder comparability and uptake. This study aimed to develop a prototype reporting checklist and glossary to support structured, transparent, and reproducible reporting of horizon-scanning methods in healthcare innovation.

A multidisciplinary working group of horizon-scanning, evidence synthesis, and information specialists was convened at the NIHR Innovation Observatory, the UK national horizon-scanning center, in May 2024. Using PRISMA-ScR as a framework, four workshops were held to adapt relevant reporting items and build a prototype checklist. Internal validation was conducted on 17 eligible Innovation Observatory reports (2017–2024), with scoring to assess item coverage. Items were then refined, classified as mandatory or optional, and finalised through consensus.

Of 46 outputs screened, 17 met inclusion criteria. Fifteen checklist items achieved ≥50% coverage; 20 scored <50%. The final 35-item checklist (31 single and 4 multi-part items) includes 28 mandatory and 7 optional items. Four novel components were introduced: interest holder description, HIP-D/I scope framework, technology characteristics, and integration of the PESTLE framework.

and recommendations This is the first checklist to standardise reporting in health technology horizon-scanning. While this checklist prototype has been developed internally, external validation involving multidisciplinary experts via Delphi and a scoping review are planned. Its adoption can enhance transparency, reproducibility, and strategic impact, strengthening this methodological field. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement This study/project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) [NIHR IO/project reference HSRIC-2016-10009]. 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 Data Availability All data produced are available online in the Open Science Framework repository.