Prospective registration of guidelines and consensus statements of traditional and integrative medicine: current status and experience from the PREPARE platform

Background: Prospective registration of guidelines enhances transparency and reduces research waste. With the growing number of Traditional and Integrative Medicine (TIM) guidelines, the purpose of this study was to analyze the registrations of TIM guidelines and consensus statements on the Practice guideline REgistration for transPAREncy (PREPARE) platform. Methods: All TIM guidelines and consensus statements registered on PREPARE by December 31, 2024, were included. Data on registration year, type, category, country, evidence grading, funding, use of systematic reviews, and protocols were extracted and summarized as frequencies and percentages. Results: As of December 31, 2024, a total of 3434 projects had been registered on PREPARE, of which 587 (17.1%) pertained to traditional and integrative medicine. Among these, 380 (64.7%) were traditional medicine guidelines and consensus statements, and 207 (35.3%) involved integrative medicine. Of the TIM-related guidelines and consensus statements, 401 were standard guidelines and 150 were consensus statements; most (551/587, 93.9%) were registrations for original versions. Nearly half (268/587, 45.7%) addressed both diagnostic and treatment procedures. The majority of registrations (511/587, 87.1%) reported that systematic reviews would inform guidelines and consensus statements. Furthermore, 501 (85.3%) guidelines and consensus statements stated they would grade the strength of evidence and recommendations, with the grading methods specified. Approximately 80% (466/587) explicitly reported their sources of funding, amounting to 632 individual funding sources. Conclusion: Despite increased use of public platforms for registration, further efforts are needed to improve awareness and practice. The PREPARE working group will collaborate with TIM guideline developers to implement initiatives that advance the rigor, transparency, and usability of TIM guidelines and consensus statements.