Evidence map of studies evaluating methods for conducting, interpreting and reporting overviews of systematic reviews of interventions: rationale and design

Evidence gap maps (EGMs) are the concern of this column. A brief history of evidence summaries including literature and systematic reviews is presented followed by a discussion of the process of creating an evidence map. Then, concerns about a lack of inclusion of qualitative nursing research in particular are addressed.

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Meditation: Evidence Map of Systematic Reviews

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.742715 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Caio Fábio Schlechta Portella ◽

Ricardo Ghelman ◽

Veronica Abdala ◽

Mariana Cabral Schveitzer ◽

Rui Ferreira Afonso

Keyword(s):

Health Outcomes ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Well Being ◽

Complementary Therapy ◽

Evidence Map ◽

Confidence Levels ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Key Word ◽

Meta Analyses

Study Basis: This evidence map presents a summary of studies that addressed the effects of meditation on various clinical and health conditions. Meditation is a contemplative practice that has been used for the promotion of health, and the treatment of different conditions.Method: The study is based on the search of four electronic databases for the period 1994-November 2019 and includes systematic reviews, meta-analyses, meta-syntheses, and integrative reviews. 3iE evidence gap map was the methodology of choice, and AMSTAR 2 was used for the analyses. Tableau was used to graphically display the confidence level, number of reviews, health outcomes, and intervention effects.Results: This map encompasses 191 studies, with Mindfulness being the key word that retrieved the highest number of results. Several meditation techniques were evaluated in different contexts, and the confidence levels of 22 studies were high, 84 were moderate, and 82 were low. Two 2 meta-syntheses and 1 integrative review were also included. Most of the studies reported positive effects and a beneficial potential of the practice of meditation. Health outcomes were divided into five groups out of which mental health and vitality, and well-being and quality of life stood out with the largest number of studies.Conclusions: Meditation has been applied in different areas. This Evidence Map intends to be an easy visual tool to access valuable evidence-based information on this complementary therapy for patients, health professionals, and managers.

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An Evidence Map for Interventions Addressing Transition from Pediatric to Adult Care: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews

Journal of Pediatric Nursing ◽

10.1016/j.pedn.2019.05.015 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 ◽

pp. 18-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Laura C. Hart ◽

Sonya V. Patel-Nguyen ◽

Meredith G. Merkley ◽

Daniel E. Jonas

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Adult Care ◽

Evidence Map

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Taking health systems research syntheses to the next level: overviews of systematic reviews

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews ◽

10.1002/14651858.ed000123 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

M Kent Ranson ◽

David B Evans

Keyword(s):

Health Systems ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Health Systems Research ◽

Systems Research ◽

Overviews Of Systematic Reviews

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Topic overlap and research waste at the ‘Overviews of systematic reviews’ level: a meta-research study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-665009/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Carole Lunny ◽

Jia He Zhang ◽

Alyssa Chen ◽

Trish Neelakant ◽

Gavindeep Shinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Reviews ◽

Research Study ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Targeted Intervention ◽

Complete Representation ◽

Research Waste ◽

Icd 10 ◽

Medical Disciplines ◽

Overviews Of Systematic Reviews ◽

Research Resources

Abstract Background Multiple ‘overviews of reviews’ conducted on the same topic (“overlapping overviews”) represent a waste of research resources, and can confuse clinicians who are required to choose among competing treatments. We aimed to assess the frequency and characteristics of overlapping overviews. Methods MEDLINE, Epistemonikos and Cochrane databases were searched for overviews that: synthesised reviews of health interventions and conducted systematic searches. Overlap in topic was defined as: duplication of PICO elements, not representing an update of a previous overview, and not a replication. We also categorized the overviews as broad or narrow in scope. Results Of 541 overviews identified (2000–2018), 172 (32%) overlapped across similar PICO. The overlapping overviews fell within 13 WHO ICD-10 medical classifications and 63 topics. The overviews may have overlapped partially or completely, such that a similar portion, major component(s), or complete representation of an overview was duplicated. 149/172 (87%) overlapping overviews were characterized as broad in scope. Most frequently, broad overviews had targeted populations for which multiple interventions were addressed (44%), or least frequently, they had a targeted intervention for multiple populations (17%). Conclusions One third of overviews overlapped in content with a majority covering broad topic areas, and fewer considering subsets of the evidence. A multiplicity of overviews on the same topic adds to the ongoing waste of research resources, time and effort across medical disciplines. This study and the database of 172 overlapping overviews can provide a guide to authors about which topics are covered, and gaps in the evidence for future analysis.

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Publication practices of sub-Saharan African Cochrane authors: a bibliometric study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051839 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. e051839

Author(s):

Lawrence Mbuagbaw ◽

Anel Schoonees ◽

Joy Oliver ◽

Dachi Arikpo ◽

Solange Durão ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Reviews ◽

Data Extraction ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Bibliometric Study ◽

Test Accuracy ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Cochrane Reviews ◽

Publication Practices ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Overviews Of Systematic Reviews

IntroductionCochrane Africa (https://africa.cochrane.org/) aims to increase Cochrane reviews addressing high priority questions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Researchers residing in SSA, despite often drawing on Cochrane methods, training or resources, conduct and publish systematic reviews outside of Cochrane. Our objective was to investigate the extent to which Cochrane authors from SSA publish Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews.MethodsWe conducted a bibliometric study of systematic reviews and overviews of systematic reviews from SSA, first by identifying SSA Cochrane authors, then retrieving their first and last author systematic reviews and overviews from PubMed (2008 to April 2019) and using descriptive analyses to investigate the country of origin, types of reviews and trends in publishing Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews over time. To be eligible, a review had to have predetermined objectives, eligibility criteria, at least two databases searched, data extraction, quality assessment and a first or last author with a SSA affiliation.ResultsWe identified 657 Cochrane authors and 757 eligible systematic reviews. Most authors were from South Africa (n=332; 51%), followed by Nigeria (n=126; 19%). Three-quarters of the reviews (71%) were systematic reviews of interventions. The intervention reviews were more likely to be Cochrane reviews (60.3% vs 39.7%). Conversely, the overviews (23.8% vs 76.2%), qualitative reviews (14.8% vs 85.2%), diagnostic test accuracy reviews (16.1% vs 83.9%) and the ‘other’ reviews (11.1% vs 88.9%) were more likely to be non-Cochrane reviews. During the study period, the number of non-Cochrane reviews increased more than the number of Cochrane reviews. About a quarter of the reviews covered infectious disease topics.ConclusionCochrane authors from SSA are increasingly publishing a diverse variety of systematic reviews and overviews of systematic reviews, often opting for non-Cochrane journals.

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Evaluation of effectiveness and harms reporting in overviews of systematic reviews of interventions by developing new assessment tools

10.12681/eadd/50515 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Κωνσταντίνος Μπουγιούκας

Keyword(s):

Systematic Reviews ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Overviews Of Systematic Reviews

Στη βιοϊατρική βιβλιογραφία, οι ανασκοπήσεις συστηματικών ανασκοπήσεων (ΑΣΑ) έχουν γίνει πρόσφατα μια δημοφιλής προσέγγιση της τεκμηριωμένης σύνθεσης, όπου η μονάδα σύνθεσης είναι η συστηματική ανασκόπηση (ΣΑ). Τα αποτελέσματα από τις ΣΑ που περιλαμβάνονται σε μια ΑΣΑ μπορούν να παρουσιαστούν ακριβώς όπως αναφέρονται στις ΣΑ (ποιοτική σύνθεση) ή μπορούν να αναλυθούν εκ νέου χρησιμοποιώντας μετα-ανάλυση (ποσοτική σύνθεση). Οι ΑΣΑ μπορούν να παρέχουν πολύτιμη πληροφορία για να υποστηρίξουν τη λήψη αποφάσεων από τους επαγγελματίες υγείας και να οδηγήσουν στην ενσωμάτωση των ερευνητικών αποτελεσμάτων στην πολιτική σχεδίασης σε σύντομο χρονικό διάστημα. Χρησιμοποιώντας ένα δείγμα 1558 ΑΣΑ που δημοσιεύθηκαν μεταξύ 2000 και 2020, η βιβλιομετρική ανάλυση αποκάλυψε ερευνητικές τάσεις και τομείς ενδιαφέροντος αυτών των μελετών. Συγκεκριμένα, διαπιστώσαμε ότι οι δημοσιεύσεις αυξάνονταν ετησίως και η ονοματολογία τους δεν ήταν ενιαία (η πιο συχνή ορολογία στον τίτλο ήταν «ανασκόπηση συστηματικών ανασκοπήσεων»). Ο μεγαλύτερος αριθμός άρθρων και αυτά με τις περισσότερες αναφορές δημοσιεύτηκαν από υπεύθυνους συγγραφείς που προέρχονται από το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο. Τα άρθρα διανεμήθηκαν σε 737 επιστημονικά περιοδικά και πολλά από αυτά δημοσιεύθηκαν στον τομέα της συμπληρωματικής/εναλλακτικής ιατρικής, της ψυχιατρικής/ψυχολογίας, της διατροφής/διαιτητικής και της παιδιατρικής. Η ανάλυση της συν-συγγραφής αποκάλυψε συνεργασίες μεταξύ συγγραφέων διαφορετικών χωρών. Οι πιο συνηθισμένες κλινικές καταστάσεις ήταν η κατάθλιψη, ο διαβήτης, ο καρκίνος, η άνοια, ο πόνος, οι καρδιαγγειακές παθήσεις, το εγκεφαλικό επεισόδιο, η παχυσαρκία και η σχιζοφρένεια. Επιπλέον, αυτή η διατριβή παρουσιάζει εργαλεία που αξιολογούν την πληρότητα καταγραφής της αποτελεσματικότητας και της ασφάλειας των ιατρικών παρεμβάσεων στις ΑΣΑ. Αναπτύξαμε το εργαλείο PRIO-harms (56 υπο-στοιχεία) για να προωθήσουμε μια πιο διαφανή και ισορροπημένη αναφορά των ωφελειών και κινδύνων των ιατρικών παρεμβάσεων που διερευνώνται στις ΑΣΑ και το εργαλείο PRIO για περιλήψεις (20 υπο-στοιχεία) για να βοηθήσουμε τους συγγραφείς να συντάξουν ολοκληρωμένες, διαφανείς και κατατοπιστικές περιλήψεις για τις ΑΣΑ. Επίσης αυτά τα εργαλεία μπορούν να υιοθετηθούν από συντάκτες και εκδότες περιοδικών που δημοσιεύουν ΑΣΑ. Επιπροσθέτως, σε αυτήν τη διδακτορική διατριβή εισηγάγαμε νέες στατικές τεχνικές μέσω πινάκων και γραφημάτων για την οπτική παρουσίαση των αλληλεπικαλυπτόμενων ΣΑ που περιλαμβάνονται στις ΑΣΑ. Οι προτεινόμενες εκλεπτυσμένες γραφικές μέθοδοι (π.χ. “upset plots”, “heatmaps”, “node-link graphs”) ενδέχεται να βοηθήσουν τους μεθοδολόγους και συγγραφείς στην εξερεύνηση και απεικόνιση του βαθμού επικάλυψης των πρωτογενών μελετών των ΣΑ, γεγονός που με τη σειρά του μπορεί να βελτιώσει την εγκυρότητα και τη διαφάνεια στις ΑΣΑ. Ωστόσο, απαιτείται περισσότερη έρευνα για να κατανοηθεί ποιες γραφικές τεχνικές θα ήταν πιο χρήσιμες και ευκολότερες στην κατανόηση. Αυτά τα νέα εργαλεία και γραφικές τεχνικές θα μπορούσαν να βελτιωθούν από την κριτική αξιολόγηση και περαιτέρω επικύρωση από ειδικούς και ερευνητικές ομάδες που παράγουν κατευθυντήριες οδηγίες για τις ΑΣΑ.

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