The National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) was established by the Minister for Health as an independent advisory committee to advise on all new proposals for screening programmes and revisions to existing screening programmes in Ireland. At the request of the NSAC, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) agreed to undertake an evidence review of universal ultrasound screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip in infants. The findings of this evidence review will be presented to the NSAC for consideration.

The aim of this evidence summary is to assess the epidemiology, clinical effectiveness and safety of universal ultrasound screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip in infants. This protocol outlines the evidence synthesis approach that will be used by HIQA’s evaluation team.