AHRQ series on complex intervention systematic reviews-paper 5: advanced analytic methods

Terri Pigott; Jane Noyes; Craig A Umscheid; Evan Myers; Sally C Morton; Rongwei Fu; Gillian D Sanders-Schmidler; Beth Devine; M Hassan Murad; Michael P Kelly; Christopher Fonnesbeck; Leila Kahwati; S Natasha Beretvas

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.06.015

AHRQ series on complex intervention systematic reviews-paper 5: advanced analytic methods

J Clin Epidemiol. 2017 Oct:90:37-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.06.015. Epub 2017 Jul 15.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Office of Research Services, Loyola University Chicago, 6439 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60626, USA. Electronic address: tpigott@luc.edu.
² School of Social Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, UK.
³ ECRI Institute-Penn Medicine AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁴ Duke Evidence-based Practice Center, Duke University, 2400 Pratt St, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
⁵ College of Science, Virginia Tech, North End Center, Suite 4300, 300 Turner Street NW, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
⁶ Pacific-Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
⁷ Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program, University of Washington, Box 357630, Seattle, WA 98195-7630, USA.
⁸ Mayo Clinic Evidence-based Practice Center, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
⁹ Primary Care Unit, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Cambridge CB2 0SR, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
¹¹ RTI International, 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, Hobbs 139 P.O. Box 12194, Durham, NC 27709, USA.
¹² Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.

PMID: 28720512
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.06.015

Abstract

Background and objective: Advanced analytic methods for synthesizing evidence about complex interventions continue to be developed. In this paper, we emphasize that the specific research question posed in the review should be used as a guide for choosing the appropriate analytic method.

Methods: We present advanced analytic approaches that address four common questions that guide reviews of complex interventions: (1) How effective is the intervention? (2) For whom does the intervention work and in what contexts? (3) What happens when the intervention is implemented? and (4) What decisions are possible given the results of the synthesis?

Conclusion: The analytic approaches presented in this paper are particularly useful when each primary study differs in components, mechanisms of action, context, implementation, timing, and many other domains.

Keywords: Bayesian analysis; Decision analysis; Finite mixture models; Meta-analysis; Meta-regression; Qualitative synthesis; Systematic review.

MeSH terms

Bayes Theorem
Decision Making
Evidence-Based Medicine
Finite Element Analysis
Guidelines as Topic
Humans
Meta-Analysis as Topic
Qualitative Research
Research Design*
Review Literature as Topic*