Economics Methods in Cochrane Systematic Reviews
Author Information
Author(s): Ian Shemilt, Miranda Mugford, Michael Drummond, Eric Eisenstein, Jacqueline Mallender, David McDaid, Luke Vale, Damian Walker
Primary Institution: The Campbell & Cochrane Economics Methods Group (CCEMG)
Hypothesis
How are economics methods incorporated into Cochrane systematic reviews of health promotion and public health interventions?
Conclusion
Cochrane reviews need to improve consistency and transparency in reporting economic components to enhance their relevance for decision-making.
Supporting Evidence
- 21 completed Cochrane reviews and 7 review protocols were included in the study.
- None of the reviews incorporated formal economic evaluation methods.
- 10 completed reviews aimed to incorporate economics studies and data.
- Many reviews lacked transparent reporting of methods for incorporating economics.
- Some reviews likely excluded useful economics studies due to inadequate search strategies.
Takeaway
This study looked at how well Cochrane reviews include information about costs and economics, finding that many don't do it well, which is important for making good health decisions.
Methodology
The study involved searching the Cochrane Database for reviews related to health promotion and public health, extracting and analyzing data on their economics components.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the lack of formal economic evaluations in the reviews analyzed.
Limitations
The study only included a selection of Cochrane reviews and may not represent all reviews in the database.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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