Limitations
The finalised Guidance has not yet been evaluated in practice, therefore it is not possible at this stage to comment on their utility. However, we look forward to evaluating their uptake and usability in the future.
Conclusions
The eMERGe Reporting Guidance has been developed following a rigorous process in line with guideline development recommendations. The guidance is intended to improve the clarity and completeness of reporting of meta-ethnographies, to facilitate use of their findings to inform the design and delivery of services and interventions in health, social care and other fields. The eMERGe project developed a range of training material to support use of the guidance, which is freely available at www.emergeproject.org.
Future work
Meta-ethnography is an evolving qualitative evidence synthesis methodology, and future research will refine the guidance to accommodate future methodological developments. We will also investigate the impact of the eMERGe reporting guidance with a view to updating the guidance.