The Role of Systematic Reviews and the Campbell Collaboration in the Realization of Evidence-Informed Practice

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aron Shlonsky ◽  
Eamonn Noonan ◽  
Julia H. Littell ◽  
Paul Montgomery
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 263348952199419
Author(s):  
Cara C Lewis ◽  
Kayne Mettert ◽  
Aaron R Lyon

Background: Despite their inclusion in Rogers’ seminal diffusion of innovations theory, few implementation studies empirically evaluate the role of intervention characteristics. Now, with growing evidence on the role of adaptation in implementation, high-quality measures of characteristics such as adaptability, trialability, and complexity are needed. Only two systematic reviews of implementation measures captured those related to the intervention or innovation and their assessment of psychometric properties was limited. This manuscript reports on the results of eight systematic reviews of measures of intervention characteristics with nuanced data regarding a broad range of psychometric properties. Methods: The systematic review proceeded in three phases. Phase I, data collection, involved search string generation, title and abstract screening, full text review, construct assignment, and citation searches. Phase II, data extraction, involved coding psychometric information. Phase III, data analysis, involved two trained specialists independently rating each measure using PAPERS (Psychometric And Pragmatic Evidence Rating Scales). Results: Searches identified 16 measures or scales: zero for intervention source, one for evidence strength and quality, nine for relative advantage, five for adaptability, six for trialability, nine for complexity, and two for design quality and packaging. Information about internal consistency and norms was available for most measures, whereas information about other psychometric properties was most often not available. Ratings for psychometric properties fell in the range of “poor” to “good.” Conclusion: The results of this review confirm that few implementation scholars are examining the role of intervention characteristics in behavioral health studies. Significant work is needed to both develop new measures (e.g., for intervention source) and build psychometric evidence for existing measures in this forgotten domain. Plain Language Summary Intervention characteristics have long been perceived as critical factors that directly influence the rate of adopting an innovation. It remains unclear the extent to which intervention characteristics including relative advantage, complexity, trialability, intervention source, design quality and packaging, evidence strength and quality, adaptability, and cost impact implementation of evidence-based practices in behavioral health settings. To unpack the differential influence of these factors, high quality measures are needed. Systematic reviews can identify measures and synthesize the data regarding their quality to identify gaps in the field and inform measure development and testing efforts. Two previous reviews identified measures of intervention characteristics, but they did not provide information about the extent of the existing evidence nor did they evaluate the host of evidence available for identified measures. This manuscript summarizes the results of nine systematic reviews (i.e., one for each of the factors listed above) for which 16 unique measures or scales were identified. The nuanced findings will help direct measure development work in this forgotten domain.


2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 63.2-63
Author(s):  
P Middleton ◽  
C Crowther ◽  
S Green
Keyword(s):  

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhang ◽  
Margaret Sampson ◽  
Jessie McGowan

Introduction - This study applied the principles of evidence based information practice to clarify the role of information specialists and librarians in the preparation of Cochrane systematic reviews and to determine whether information specialists impact the quality of searching in Cochrane systematic reviews. Objectives - This research project sought to determine how the contribution of the person responsible for searching in the preparation of Cochrane systematic reviews was reported; whether the contribution was recognized through authorship or acknowledgement; the qualifications of the searcher; and the association between the type of contributorship and characteristics of the search strategy, assessability, and the presence of certain types of errors. Methods - Data sources: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, The Cochrane Library 3 (2002). Inclusion criteria: The study included systematic reviews that met the following criteria: one or more sections of the Cochrane Highly Sensitive Search Strategy were utilised, primary studies were either randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs, and included and excluded studies were clearly identified. Data extraction: Two librarians assessed the searches for errors, establishing consensus on discordant ratings. Results - Of the 169 reviews screened for this project, 105 met all eligibility criteria. Authors fulfilled the searching role in 41.9% of reviews studied, acknowledged persons or groups in 13.3%, a combination in 9.5%, and the role was not reported in 35.2% of reviews. For the 78 reviews in which meta-analyses were performed, the positions of those responsible for statistical decisions were examined for comparative purposes. The statistical role was performed by an author in 47.4% of cases and unreported in the same number of cases. Insufficient analyzable data was obtained regarding professional qualifications (3/105 for searching, 2/78 for statistical decisions). Search quality was assessed for 66 searches across 74 reviews. In general, it was more possible to assess the search quality when the searcher role was reported. An association was found between the reporting of searcher role and the presence of a consequential error. There was no association between the number of consequential errors and how the contribution of the searcher was reported. Conclusions - Qualifications of the persons responsible for searching and statistical decision-making were poorly reported in Cochrane reviews, but more complete role reporting is associated with greater assessability of searches and fewer substantive errors in search strategies.


2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 331
Author(s):  
Markus Regauer ◽  
Gordon Mackay ◽  
Owen Nelson ◽  
Wolfgang Böcker ◽  
Christian Ehrnthaller

Background: Surgical treatment of unstable syndesmotic injuries is not trivial, and there are no generally accepted treatment guidelines. The most common controversies regarding surgical treatment are related to screw fixation versus dynamic fixation, the use of reduction clamps, open versus closed reduction, and the role of the posterior malleolus and of the anterior inferior tibiofibular ligament (AITFL). Our aim was to draw important conclusions from the pertinent literature concerning surgical treatment of unstable syndesmotic injuries, to transform these conclusions into surgical principles supported by the literature, and finally to fuse these principles into an evidence-based surgical treatment algorithm. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the reference lists of systematic reviews of relevant studies dealing with the surgical treatment of unstable syndesmotic injuries were searched independently by two reviewers using specific terms and limits. Surgical principles supported by the literature were fused into an evidence-based surgical treatment algorithm. Results: A total of 171 articles were included for further considerations. Among them, 47 articles concerned syndesmotic screw fixation and 41 flexible dynamic fixations of the syndesmosis. Twenty-five studies compared screw fixation with dynamic fixations, and seven out of these comparisons were randomized controlled trials. Nineteen articles addressed the posterior malleolus, 14 the role of the AITFL, and eight the use of reduction clamps. Anatomic reduction is crucial to prevent posttraumatic osteoarthritis. Therefore, flexible dynamic stabilization techniques should be preferred whenever possible. An unstable AITFL should be repaired and augmented, as it represents an important stabilizer of external rotation of the distal fibula. Conclusions: The current literature provides sufficient arguments for the development of an evidence-based surgical treatment algorithm for unstable syndesmotic injuries.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Budde ◽  
Gemma Williams ◽  
Juliane Winkelmann ◽  
Laura Pfirter ◽  
Claudia Bettina Maier

Abstract Background: Patient navigators have been introduced across various countries to enable timely access to healthcare services and ensure completion of diagnosis and follow-up of care. There is an increasing amount of evidence on the positive effect of patient navigation for patients. The aim of this study was to analyse the evidence on patient navigation interventions in ambulatory care and to evaluate their effects on individuals and health system outcomes.Methods: An overview of reviews was conducted, based on a prespecified protocol. All patients in ambulatory care or transitional care setting were included in this review as long as it was related to the role of patient navigators. The study analysed all roles of patient navigators covering a wide range of health professionals such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers as well as lay health workers or community-based workers with no or very limited training. Studies including patient-related measures and health system-related outcomes were eligible for inclusion. A rigorous data collection was performed in multiple data bases. After reaching an inter-rater agreement, title and abstract screening was independently performed. Of an initial 8362 search results a total of 673 articles were eligible for full-text screening. An extraction form was used to analyse the nine included review.Results: Nine systematic reviews were included covering various patient navigation roles in cancer care, disease screening and transitional care. Seven systematic reviews primarily tailored services to ethnic minorities or other disadvantaged groups. Patient navigators performed tasks such as providing education and counselling, translations, home visits, outreach, scheduling of appointments and follow-up. Six reviews identified positive outcomes in expanding access to care, in particular for vulnerable patient groups. Two reviews on patient navigation in transitional care reported improved patient outcomes and hospital readmission rates and mixed evidence on quality of life and emergency department visits.Conclusions: Patient navigators have shown to expand access to screenings and health services for vulnerable patients or population groups who tend to underuse health services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. e246907
Author(s):  
Swagatika Panda ◽  
Rupsa Das ◽  
Diksha Mohapatra ◽  
Neeta Mohanty

Ameloblastic carcinoma is a rare malignant odontogenic neoplasm that exhibits diverse clinical and radiological presentations. In fact there are several differential diagnoses during histopathological evaluation too. Lack of adequate reports could not establish the predominant demographic, clinical and radiological presentations. For the same reasons, the role of adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy is also unsubstantiated yet. This case discusses the innocuous clinical and radiological presentation of ameloblastic carcinoma in a 55-year-old man where the diagnostic confirmation was achieved through histopathological evaluation. The differential diagnoses, treatment and follow-up details of this case are discussed in light of the previous published case reports and systematic reviews of case reports in an attempt to increase the sensitisation among dentists towards ameloblastic carcinoma.


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