scholarly journals What evidence exists on conservation actions to conserve insects? A protocol for a systematic map of literature reviews

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal Robert Haddaway ◽  
Eliza Grames ◽  
Douglas H. Boyes ◽  
Manu E. Saunders ◽  
Nigel G Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Categorical Variables ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Evidence Review

BackgroundInsects play a central role in the functioning of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and contribute to a multitude of ecosystem services in managed and unmanaged systems Even local declines of insect abundance and richness can have enormous ecological and economic consequences. Evidence-informed conservation actions are essential to prevent potential cascading consequences of insect declines, and to help declining populations recover. Policy-makers rely on syntheses of primary research, such as reviews and meta-analyses, when making decisions about which conservation actions to implement. These evidence reviews vary in their quality, and do not necessarily synthesise the full range of scientific evidence found in the primary literature, which hampers decision-making.. This evidence review map will identify, catalogue, and describe evidence reviews that investigate actions and policies to conserve insect biodiversity. This will help policy makers identify relevant reviews and researchers to identify synthesis gaps. It will also generate a list of conservation actions which can feed into future synthesis projects. We will produce an interactive database of evidence reviews, acting as a bibliography for policy-makers, curate a list of insect conservation actions that have been reviewed, and identify synthesis gaps for conservation actions that have not been reviewed.MethodsWe will search for evidence reviews across seven large, generic bibliographic databases, a database of environmental reviews, and five grey literature resources using a search string consisting of an insect substring, a biodiversity or population response substring, an evidence synthesis substring, and a conservation substring. The results will be deduplicated and then screened at title and abstract (concurrently) and full text levels against predefined inclusion criteria. We will initially perform consistency checking on a subset of records at each level to ensure the inclusion criteria are sufficiently clear and understood by multiple reviewers. We will extract a suite of descriptive meta-data from relevant reviews, including a description of the action and information on each review’s focal taxa, biomes, and locations. If resources allow, we will apply the CEESAT critical appraisal tool for evidence reviews to assess validity of individual records and the evidence base as a whole. We will summarise our findings in an interactive database of reviews and other visualisations, including evidence atlases and heat maps (cross tabulations of the volume of evidence across two categorical variables). The findings of the evidence review map will support the identification of synthesis gaps and clusters that may warrant further attention through secondary research.

scholarly journals What evidence exists on conservation actions to conserve insects? A protocol for a systematic map of literature reviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal R. Haddaway ◽  
Eliza M. Grames ◽  
Douglas H. Boyes ◽  
Manu E. Saunders ◽  
Nigel G. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Categorical Variables ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Evidence Review

Abstract Background Insects play a central role in the functioning of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and contribute to a multitude of ecosystem services in managed and unmanaged systems Even local declines of insect abundance and richness can have enormous ecological and economic consequences. Evidence-informed conservation actions are essential to prevent potential cascading consequences of insect declines, and to help declining populations recover. Policy-makers rely on syntheses of primary research, such as reviews and meta-analyses, when making decisions about which conservation actions to implement. These evidence reviews vary in their quality, and do not necessarily synthesise the full range of scientific evidence found in the primary literature, which hampers decision-making. This evidence review map will identify, catalogue, and describe evidence reviews that investigate actions and policies to conserve insect biodiversity. This will help policy makers identify relevant reviews and researchers to identify synthesis gaps. It will also generate a list of conservation actions which can feed into future synthesis projects. We will produce an interactive database of evidence reviews, acting as a bibliography for policy-makers, curate a list of insect conservation actions that have been reviewed, and identify synthesis gaps for conservation actions that have not been reviewed. Methods We will search for evidence reviews across seven large, generic bibliographic databases, a database of environmental reviews, and five grey literature resources using a search string consisting of an insect substring, a biodiversity or population response substring, an evidence synthesis substring, and a conservation substring. The results will be deduplicated and then screened at title and abstract (concurrently) and full text levels against predefined inclusion criteria. We will initially perform consistency checking on a subset of records at each level to ensure the inclusion criteria are sufficiently clear and understood by multiple reviewers. We will extract a suite of descriptive meta-data from relevant reviews, including a description of the action and information on each review’s focal taxa, biomes, and locations. If resources allow, we will apply the CEESAT critical appraisal tool for evidence reviews to assess validity of individual records and the evidence base as a whole. We will summarise our findings in an interactive database of reviews and other visualisations, including evidence atlases and heat maps (cross tabulations of the volume of evidence across two categorical variables). The findings of the evidence review map will support the identification of synthesis gaps and clusters that may warrant further attention through secondary research.

scholarly journals Systematically Searching Empirical Literature in the Social Sciences: Results from Two Meta-Analyses Within the Domain of Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
David I. Pickup ◽  
Robert M. Bernard ◽  
Eugene Borokhovski ◽  
Anne C. Wade ◽  
Rana M. Tamim
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Campbell Collaboration ◽  
Manual Search ◽  
Review Team ◽  
Meta Analyses

Introduction. This paper provides an overview of the information retrieval strategy employed for two meta-analyses, conducted by a systematic review team at Concordia University (Montreal, QC, Canada). Both papers draw on standards first articulated by H.M. Cooper and further developed by the Campbell Collaboration, which promote a comprehensive approach to systematically searching an extensive array of resources (bibliographic databases, print resources, citation indices, etc.) in order to locate both published and unpublished research. The goal is to verify if searching comprehensively through multiple resources retrieves studies that are unique, and hence, improve the overall representativeness of a diverse body of literature. We also analyze the sensitivity and specificity of the results by data source. Methods. In order to determine the source sensitivity, we consider percentage of results from each source retrieved for full-text review. In order to determine the source specificity, we derive a percentage from the total number of studies included in the final meta-analysis compared against the overall number of initial results found. Results. Results demonstrate the need to search beyond the subject-specific databases of a particular discipline as unique results can be found in many places. Databases for related disciplines provided 129 unique includes to each meta-analysis, and multidisciplinary databases provided 44 and 99 unique includes for the two meta-analyses in question respectively. Manual search techniques were much more sensitive and specific than electronic searches of databases and yield a higher percentage of final includes. Discussion. The results demonstrate the utility of a comprehensive information retrieval methodology like that proposed by the Campbell Collaboration, which goes beyond the main subject databases to locate the full range of information sources, including grey literature.

scholarly journals Oral ulcers of COVID-19 patients: a scoping review protocol

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abanoub Riad ◽  
Julien Issa ◽  
Veronika Chuchmova ◽  
Simona Slezakova ◽  
Esraa Gomaa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Hand Search ◽  
Oral Ulcers ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
Review Protocol ◽  
Science Framework

AbstractObjectiveThis scoping review aims to systematically identify the types, characteristics, and possible pathophysiologic etiologies of the oral ulcers that emerge in COVID-19 patients.IntroductionThe oral cavity is a vulnerable niche for the most diverse microbial ecosystem in the human body; therefore, it presents a wide array of mucocutaneous complications that could indicate various acute and chronic conditions. The COVID-19-related oral conditions, including oral ulcers, had been widely debated as direct manifestations or indirect complications of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. According to a preliminary search of PROSPERO, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the JBI Evidence Synthesis, there is no published nor registered scoping review concerned with the oral ulcers of COVID-19 patients.Inclusion criteriaThe review will include studies included COVID-19 patients whose infection had been confirmed by RT-PCR testing regardless of infection severity and clinical course. Only the studies that reported COVID-19 patients with oral ulcers.MethodsA three-phase search strategy will be carried out: an initial limited search, a full electronic search, and hand search using the reference lists of all included records. The main bibliographic databases of published literature will include MEDLINE® (Ovid), EMBASE (Elsevier), and Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register. All identified records will be managed using EndNote 9.2, and the titles and abstracts will be screened against the inclusion criteria before the full text of all potentially relevant studies will be examined. The data will be presented in tabular form, rating maps, and narrative summary.RegistrationThis protocol had been pre-registered in Open Science Framework (OSF) Registries.[1]

scholarly journals Clinical, laboratory, and genetic markers for the development or presence of psoriatic arthritis in psoriasis patients: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. M. Mulder ◽  
Tamara W. van Hal ◽  
Mark H. Wenink ◽  
Hans J. P. M. Koenen ◽  
Frank H. J. van den Hoogen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psoriatic Arthritis ◽  
Structural Damage ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Laboratory Markers ◽  
Study Selection ◽  
Best Evidence Synthesis

AbstractTwenty to thirty percent of psoriasis (Pso) patients will develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Detection of Pso patients that are (at risk for) developing PsA is essential to prevent structural damage. We conducted a systematic search of five bibliographic databases, up to May 2020. We searched for studies assessing markers (clinical, laboratory, genetic) associated with the development or presence of PsA in Pso patients. Study selection and quality assessment of the included studies was performed, followed by a qualitative best evidence synthesis to determine the level of evidence for a marker and its association with concomitant/developing PsA in Pso. Overall, 259 possible markers were identified in 119 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Laboratory markers related to inflammation and bone metabolism reached a strong level of evidence for the association (not prediction) of PsA in Pso. Only CXCL10 showed strong evidence for a positive predictive value for PsA in Pso. The importance of timely detecting PsA in a Pso population, and finding more (bio)markers contributing to early detection, remains high.

scholarly journals Rapid evidence review of harm reduction interventions and messaging for people who inject drugs during pandemic events: implications for the ongoing COVID-19 response

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Wilkinson ◽  
Lindsey Hines ◽  
Adam Holland ◽  
Sema Mandal ◽  
Emily Phipps
Keyword(s):  
Harm Reduction ◽  
People Who Inject Drugs ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Evidence Review ◽  
Spread Of Infection

Abstract Background People who inject drugs are at increased health risk in a pandemic due to their greater susceptibility to severe disease and as a consequence of the restrictions put in place to halt the spread of infection. Harm reduction (HR) services, which aim to reduce the negative effects of drug use on health, are likely to be diminished in a pandemic. However, innovative HR interventions and messaging may also develop in response to such a crisis. It is vital to understand the most effective ways to deliver HR in pandemic situations so that guidance can be provided for current and future disruptions to service provision. Methods A rapid evidence review was conducted with the aim of exploring what HR interventions and messaging are most effective during a pandemic-type situation. Ten health databases were systematically searched using terms relevant to the research aim. A search was also made of grey literature, including a targeted search of HR messaging from key national and service provider websites. Results In the initial search, 121 pieces of evidence were identified which, after screening and de-duplication, resulted in 60 for inclusion. The included evidence consists mainly of non-peer reviewed, pre-publication or expert opinion pieces. The rapid findings suggest that HR services should be deemed essential during a pandemic, with staff supported to work safely and social distancing adaptations implemented. Services should be encouraged to operate more flexibly; for instance, in deciding the amounts of take-home supplies of injecting equipment and medications. The evidence on HR communication was very limited but key messages on infection control, uncertain drug supply and accessing services were identified. Conclusions This rapid evidence review identifies implications for national policy makers, commissioners and HR service providers. A person-centred rather than disease-centred approach to HR delivered by collaborating partners, as well as prioritizing tailored HR messaging, is recommended. Further research evaluating the delivery of HR services and messaging, particularly focusing on health inequalities, is urgently needed.

scholarly journals Prevalence of sending, receiving and forwarding sexts among youths: A three-level meta-analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243653
Author(s):  
Cristian Molla-Esparza ◽  
Josep-Maria Losilla ◽  
Emelina López-González
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Set Inclusion ◽  
Prevalence Estimates ◽  
The Mean

By systematic review with a three-level, mixed-effects meta-analysis, this paper examines the prevalence of sexting experiences among youths aimed at analyzing conceptual and methodological moderators that might explain its heterogeneity. A search was conducted of five bibliographic databases and grey literature up until February 2020. The risk of bias in primary studies was assessed. A total of seventy-nine articles met the set inclusion criteria. Mean prevalences for sending, receiving and forwarding sexts were .14 (95% CI: .12, .17), .31 (95% CI: .26, .36) and .07 (95% CI: .05, .09), respectively, expressed as fractions over one. Moderator analyses showed that all sexting experiences increased with age (e.g., the mean prevalence for sending sexts at the age of 12 was .04, whereas, at the age of 16, it was .21) and year of data collection (e.g., the mean prevalence for sending sexts in studies collecting data in 2009 was .07, whereas, in studies collecting data in 2018, it was .33). Subgroup analysis revealed that studies with probabilistic samples led to significantly lower mean prevalences for the sexting experiences of sending (.08, 95% CI: .06, .11), receiving (.19, 95% CI: .15, .24) and forwarding sexts (.04, 95% CI: .03, .07). Self-reported administration procedures also led to more homogeneous prevalence estimates than interviews. Prevalence estimates also varied according to the type of media content (e.g., the mean prevalence for sending sexual text messages was .22, whereas, for sending sexual images or videos, it was .12). Overall, our meta-analysis results suggest high and increasing prevalences of sending and receiving sexts among youths.

scholarly journals Improving health, well-being and parenting skills in parents of children with medical complexity: a scoping review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e015242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Rebecca Bradshaw ◽  
Karen Shaw ◽  
Danai Bem ◽  
Carole Cummins
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Family Coping ◽  
Children With Medical Complexity ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionLess than 1% of children have complex medical conditions but account for one-third of all child health spending. The impact of suboptimal management of this group of children can have a considerable effect on families as well as services. Some families appear to cope more easily than others do, but there are compelling reasons to suggest that effective interventions may improve family coping and ultimately outcomes. Hospitalisation of their child presents a unique set of pressures and challenges for parents, but also an opportunity to intervene. However, the evidence is not well described in relation to this group of families. The primary objective of this scoping review is to identify parent and family-based interventions available to improve parental health, well-being, functioning or skills in the context of a child’s medically complex hospital admission and hospital care.Methods and analysisNine bibliographic databases will be searched spanning medicine, nursing, psychology, education, social work and the grey literature using a combination of index terms and text words related to parents, childhood, chronic illness and interventions. Study eligibility will be assessed by two researchers against preset inclusion and exclusion criteria. Key information from each study will be extracted and charted including year of publication, condition, severity, geographical setting, key concepts and definitions, aims, study population and sample size, methodology/methods, interventions, outcomes and key findings. Directed qualitative content analysis will be used to make sense of narrative findings within the included studies. Results will be presented which summarise the scope of the literature and identify key findings, potential areas for evidence synthesis and research gaps.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required. The results of this review will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal and feedback to stakeholders during the development of a hospital-based intervention.

Using grey literature when evaluating effectiveness in digital health and health and welfare technology: a source worth considering (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Landerdahl Stridsberg ◽  
Matt X Richardson ◽  
Ken Redekop ◽  
Maria Ehn ◽  
Sarah Wamala Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Systematic Search ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Welfare Technology

UNSTRUCTURED The need for assessing the effectiveness and value of interventions involving digital health and/or health and welfare technology is becoming more important, due to the rapidly growing development of these technologies and their areas of application. Systematic reviews gather the available evidence based on published articles and make it accessible to researchers, practitioners, decision makers and policy makers. A thorough and systematic search in several bibliographic databases is essential when reviewing literature. But should publications outside the realm of traditional publication databases - known as grey literature – also be included? Can grey literature contribute to broaden the results of the review and how systematic can you be when searching for it INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-27267

scholarly journals Methods for evaluating the benefits and harms of antenatal and newborn screening programmes adopted by health economic assessments: protocol for a systematic review

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e048031
Author(s):  
May Ee Png ◽  
Miaoqing Yang ◽  
Nia Roberts ◽  
Sian Taylor-Phillips ◽  
Oliver Rivero-Arias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Economic ◽  
Newborn Screening ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Health Economic Evaluation ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Economic Evaluations

IntroductionComplex organisational arrangements are required to deliver antenatal and newborn screening programmes. Decision-makers consider the benefits and harms of screening when reviewing the evidence about these programmes. Economic evaluations contribute one important part of this assessment process. However, it is not fully understood what approaches health economic assessments have adopted to measure and value benefits and harms. This study aims to systematically review and critique the published and grey literature on methods for identifying, measuring and valuing the benefits and harms of antenatal and newborn screening adopted by health economic assessments.Methods and analysisNine bibliographic databases will be searched from 2000 onwards. These search strategies will be supplemented by manual reference searching of bibliographies, forward citation searching, contacts with experts, author searching and web searching for grey literature. Studies will be selected for review if they report health economic assessments of an antenatal or newborn screening programme. Assessments of title and abstracts and full reports will be undertaken independently with disagreements resolved through discussion. Data extraction will include fields to assess the reporting quality of the studies using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards statement and a bespoke ancillary form to assess how benefits and harms have been accounted for.Ethics and disseminationThis is an evidence synthesis review from already published materials and hence ethics committee approval or written informed consent will not be required. Our results will be disseminated by publishing in high-impact peer-review journals and presenting at relevant conferences.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020165236.

scholarly journals Rapid Evidence Review of Harm Reduction Interventions and Messaging for People Who Inject Drugs During Pandemic Events: Implications for the On-Going COVID-19 Response

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Wilkinson ◽  
Lindsey Hines ◽  
Adam Holland ◽  
Sema Mandal ◽  
Emily Phipps
Keyword(s):  
Harm Reduction ◽  
People Who Inject Drugs ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Evidence Review ◽  
Spread Of Infection

Abstract Background People who inject drugs (PWID) are at increased health risk in a pandemic due to their greater susceptibility to severe disease and as a consequence of the restrictions put in place to halt the spread of infection. Harm reduction (HR) services, which aim to reduce the negative effects of drug use on health, are likely to be diminished in a pandemic. However, innovative HR interventions and messaging may also develop in response to such a crisis. It is vital to understand the most effective ways to deliver HR in pandemic situations so that guidance can be provided for current and future disruptions to service provision. Methods A rapid evidence review was conducted with the aim of exploring what HR interventions and messaging are most effective during a pandemic type situation. Ten health databases were systematically searched using terms relevant to the research aim. A search was also made of grey literature, including a targeted search of HR messaging from key national and service provider websites. Results In the initial search, 121 pieces of evidence were identified which, after screening and de-duplication, resulted in 60 for inclusion. The included evidence consists mainly of non-peer reviewed, pre-publication or expert opinion pieces. The rapid findings suggest that HR services should be deemed essential during a pandemic, with staff supported to work safely and social distancing adaptations implemented. Services should be encouraged to operate more flexibly; for instance, in deciding the amounts of take-home supplies of injecting equipment and medications. The evidence on HR communication was very limited but key messages on infection control, uncertain drug supply and accessing services were identified.Conclusions This rapid evidence review identifies implications for national policy makers, commissioners and HR service providers. A person-centred rather than disease-centred approach to HR delivered by collaborating partners, as well as prioritizing tailored HR messaging, is recommended. Further research evaluating the delivery of HR services and messaging, particularly focusing on health inequalities, is urgently needed.

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