Improving Evidence Use in Health Guidelines
Author Information
Author(s): Andrew D Oxman, Holger J Schünemann, Atle Fretheim
Primary Institution: Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services
Hypothesis
What types of study designs should be used to address different types of questions about the effects of the different options that are considered when making a recommendation?
Conclusion
The study emphasizes the importance of using a variety of evidence types in health care recommendations and the need for explicit decisions on study design inclusion.
Supporting Evidence
- The review found that different types of evidence are needed for different health care recommendations.
- Expert opinion should be based on identified and appraised facts rather than used as standalone evidence.
- There is a need for explicit decisions on what types of study designs to include in systematic reviews.
Takeaway
This study looks at how to choose the best types of research to help make health recommendations, saying we need to be careful about what evidence we use.
Methodology
The authors reviewed existing literature and systematic reviews on evidence types for health guidelines without conducting their own systematic reviews.
Potential Biases
There is a risk of bias in non-randomised studies and the potential for publication bias in systematic reviews.
Limitations
The review does not provide specific guidance on study designs for non-human studies and acknowledges uncertainty in including certain study designs.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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