Meta-Analyses - Nursing - Systematic Reviews - LibGuides at Simmons University

"How can I critique systematic reviews and meta-analyses?"
Ask these questions:

Did the review address an important clinical question?

Was a thorough search carried out of the appropriate database(s) and were other potentially important sources explored?

Was methodological quality (especially factors that might predispose to bias) assessed and the trials weighted accordingly?

How sensitive are the results to the way the review has been performed?

Have the numerical results been interpreted with common sense and due regard to the broader aspects of the problem?

(Greenhalgh, 2019, Appendix 1, p. 247)

What is a Meta-Analysis?

Definition

A quantitative approach that permits the synthesis and integration of results from multiple individual studies focused on a specific research question. The outcome of this quantitative approach for reviewing literature has tremendous potential for a practice-based discipline such as nursing (2017, Beck). Meta-Analysis from the Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

Forest plots

In this kind of study [meta-analysis], we often see a graph, called a forest plot, which can summarize almost all of the essential information of a meta-analysis (Tran Quang Hung, 2016).

How to read a forest plot? by Tran Quang Hung
This blog was originally published on Students 4 Best Evidence, a blogging platform by students for students.
How to read a forest plot in a meta-analysis by Philip Sedgwick
The forest plot is a graphic representation of the results of the meta-analysis.

examples of forest plots — Examples of forest plots from Cuijpers et al., 2013, Fergusson et al., 2005, & Walters et al., 2020

Meta-analysis for the non-statistician by Trisha Greenhalgh
The meta-analysis, defined as a statistical synthesis of the numerical results of several trials that all addressed the same question...(2020, Greenhalgh, Chapter 9., pp. 125-130).
Analysing data and undertaking meta-analyses from the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions
Meta-analysis is the statistical combination of results from two or more separate studies (Deeks et al, 2019, Introduction).

Sources

Beck, C. T. (2017). Meta Analysis. In J. Fitzpatrick (Ed.), Encyclopedia of nursing research (4th ed.). Springer Publishing Company, Credo Reference

Cuijpers, P., Hollon, S. D., van Straten, A., Bockting, C., Berking, M., & Andersson, G. (2013). Does cognitive behaviour therapy have an enduring effect that is superior to keeping patients on continuation pharmacotherapy? A meta-analysis. BMJ open, 3(4), e002542.

Fergusson, D., Glass, K. C., Hutton, B., & Shapiro, S. (2005). Randomized controlled trials of Aprotinin in cardiac surgery: Could clinical equipoise have stopped the bleeding?. Clinical Trials, 2(3), 218-232.

Greenhalgh, T. (2019). Appendix 1, Checklist for a systematic review or meta-analysis. In How to read a paper: The basics of evidence-based medicine and healthcare. (Sixth ed., p. 247). Wiley Blackwell.

Greenhalgh, T. (2019). Meta-analysis for the non-statistician. In How to read a paper : The basics of evidence-based medicine and healthcare. (Sixth ed., pp. 117-136). Wiley Blackwell.

Jonathan J Deeks, Julian PT Higgins, & Douglas G Altman. (2019). Analysing data and undertaking meta-analyses. In the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions

Tran Quang Hung. (2016). Forest plot at a glance [Blog]. Cochrane UK. https://uk.cochrane.org/news/how-read-forest-plot

Walters, G. D., Willis, N. S., Cooper, T. E., & Craig, J. C. (2020). Interventions for renal vasculitis in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (1). Article CD003232. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd003232.pub4

Nursing - Systematic Reviews: Meta-Analyses

What is a Meta-Analysis?

Definition

Forest plots

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Sources