Lisa Askie, Martin Offringa
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are at the top of the 'evidence hierarchy' when assessing the effectiveness of health interventions. As such, they are important sources of synthesized information for decision-makers including consumers, clinicians, funders, payers, regulators, and researchers. The main reasons for undertaking systematic reviews and meta-analyses are to minimize bias and to maximize data by collating all the relevant, available evidence on a particular topic. In order to correctly inform decision-makers, but not mislead them, a number of key methodological conditions need to be met when undertaking these types of analysis...
December 2015: Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine