Assessing Quality of Individual StudiesInteractive Quiz

Prepared for:

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Training Modules for Systematic Reviews Methods Guide

www.ahrq.gov

The results of quality assessment are used at several steps in a systematic review. Some uses are required and some are optional. For which steps is quality assessment required?

B.Interpreting results of individual studies and grading the body of evidence

C.Selecting studies for inclusion and meta-analyses

D.All steps described for all topics

Quality Assessment in a Systematic Review

The process of quality assessment involves which series of steps?

B.Reading the article, arriving at an overall quality rating, and then identifying sources of bias to support the quality rating

C.Applying a hierarchy of evidence, with randomized clinical trials being rated as highest quality, followed by nonrandomized comparative studies, and then case series

D.Identifying the study design, evaluating overall and design-specific sources of bias, and then arriving at a quality rating based on freedom from these biases

Steps in Quality Assessment

In choosing a tool to evaluate quality, what is the most important consideration?

B.Familiarity with the tool

C.The degree to which the tool covers key sources of bias

D.The number of items on the tool

What Are the Best Tools To Evaluate Quality?

When reporting quality assessment, what must systematic reviewers describe?

B.Criteria only

C.Criteria, processes, and the generation of overall quality ratings

D.Criteria and the generation of overall quality ratings

What To Describe in Quality Assessment

Quality assessment involves several steps: Identifying the study design Evaluating overall and design-specific sources of

bias Rating quality based on freedom from these biases

Quality assessment is used in systematic reviews to: Interpret results of individual studies Grade the body of evidence

Methods used for quality assessment must be transparent

Summary

This presentation was prepared by Meera Viswanathan, Ph.D., a member of the Research Triangle Institute–University of North Carolina Evidence-based Practice Center.

The presentation is based on an update of chapter 6 in version 1.0 of the Methods Guide for Comparative Effectiveness Reviews (update available at: http://www.effectivehealthcare. ahrq.gov/ehc/products/60/294/2009_0805_principles1.pdf).

Author