Systematic Reviews to Support Evidence-Based Medicine

✍ Scribed by Khalid Khan, Regina Kunz, Jos Kleijnen, Gerd Antes

• Publisher: Hodder Arnold Publishers
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 216
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

For many healthcare professionals there is a mystery surrounding systematic reviews of healthcare literature. How did they select certain studies and reject others? What did they do to pool results? How did a bunch of insignificant findings suddenly become significant? With this book you will embark on a journey that will provide the key information required to demystify these intrigues. By understanding the principles behind reviews of healthcare literature, you will be able to assess the credibility of the recommendations handed down to you in published reviews and practice guidelines. Following the success of the first edition, Systematic Reviews to Support Evidence-based Medicine simplifies and explains the key steps involved in reviewing literature, directing its deliberations at a readership of nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, public health personnel, new reviewers and students of epidemiology and health technology assessment. This second edition retains the strong emphasis on effectiveness, but the reader is presented with six brand new case studies, and all of the original material has been thoroughly edited and revised to bring it up to date and bring it in line with current knowledge. The authors are veterans of over 150 systematic reviews. Over the years they have worked with healthcare commissioners, clinicians and other decision-makers, producing reviews to inform policy and practice. They have collaborated with other epidemiologists and statisticians to advance methods for undertaking systematic reviews and between them, they have a wide and appropriate range of experience of reviewing and applying findings of healthcare research. Written in a concise and easy-to-digest form, and avoiding technical jargon, Systematic Reviews to Support Evidence-based Medicine remains a must-read for all healthcare professionals.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 6
Preface......Page 8
About the authors......Page 10
Acknowledgements......Page 12
List of abbreviations......Page 14
Introduction......Page 16
Steps of a systematic review......Page 22
Step 1: Framing questions for a review......Page 24
Step 2: Identifying relevant literature......Page 38
Step 3: Assessing the quality of the literature......Page 54
Step 4: Summarizing the evidence......Page 66
Step 5: Interpreting the findings......Page 86
Case studies......Page 100
Case study 1: Identifying and appraising systematic reviews......Page 102
Case study 2: Reviewing evidence on safety of a public health intervention......Page 112
Case study 3: Reviewing evidence on effectiveness of therapy......Page 122
Case study 4: Reviewing evidence on accuracy of a test......Page 134
Case study 5: Reviewing qualitative evidence to evaluate patient experience......Page 146
Case study 6: Reviewing evidence on the effects of educational intervention......Page 154
Case study 7: Gauging strength of evidence to guide decision making......Page 164
Case study 8: To use or not to use a therapy? Incorporating evidence on adverse effects......Page 178
Suggested reading......Page 194
B......Page 196
C......Page 197
D......Page 198
E......Page 199
G......Page 200
I......Page 201
L......Page 202
N......Page 203
P......Page 204
R......Page 206
S......Page 207
W......Page 209
D......Page 210
F......Page 211
L......Page 212
P......Page 213
S......Page 214
T......Page 215
W......Page 216