HTHSCI 3C04 Chapter Notes - Chapter 19: Random Effects Model, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Systematic Review
27 Mar 2018
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Chapter 19- evaluation of systematic reviews of treatment or prevention interventions. A systematic review (overview) is a rigorous summary of all research evidence that related to a specific question; the question may be one of causation, diagnosis or prognosis but often addresses the effectiveness of an intervention. Good systematic reviews determine at the outset to include those studies that used the most appropriate design to answer the clinical question. Questions about the effectiveness of treatment or prevention are best answered by randomized controlled trials (rcts), whereas questions about harm or prognosis are best answered by cohort studies. It is usually necessary to search several electronic bibliographic databases and to use other strategies, such as hand searching of journals and consultation with experts, to ensure that every relevant primary study is identified. A search confined only to medline and cinahl will be biased towards studies that were published in english and those that found significant differences between interventions.
