PBH 710 Exam 3

Which of the following is not part of a well framed question in a systematic review?

the type of study of interest

Systematic reviews are needed when:

there is a substantive health question there is uncertainty in the costs versus the benefits of a treatment gaps exists in our knowledge

Which of the following information would you most likely not include in a systematic review?

trade publication or journal

The estimate of the measure of an association in a meta-analysis depends on the:

type of outcome

When most of the studies included in a meta-analysis are RCT's, a good tool to assess the level of bias is the:

Cochrane's Collaboration tool

List and define 3 types of bias. Why is controlling bias important in any research study or systematic review?

Confirmation bias: tend to look for data that supports our suppositions and beliefs. Can affect how we frame the question or how we look for data to review selection bias: because of the way data is selected, the likelihood of randomization is lost. tendency to want to use newest and or best so tend to select them at a higher rate than older data exclusion bias: apply different criteria to cases and controls in regards to inclusion or participation in study Controlling bias is important in any research study or systematic review because it can affect our results and not give us the true answer we are looking for in our review or research.

True for false, if interventions have different directions and the magnitudes are different, a meta-analysis is appropriate.

False

Challenges to conducting a literature search include:

Identifying and locating unpublished studies balancing resource allocation with return locating literature in electronic databases

List and define the four types of validity.

Internal - was the research done correctly External - are the results similar across other settings Statistical - are the conclusions you have drawn reasonable based on the data Predictive - does the research produce real world data that can be used to make decisions

Compare and contrast primary versus secondary sources and describe why primary sources are better for systematic reviews.

Primary sources are the first hand account of research and provide an introduction and background of the study and a literature review. Secondary sources are usually summarizations of primary sources and are more subject to bias and mis-intrepretation. Primary sources are better for systematic reviews because you are receiving the full and correct information of the study with out bias.

True or false, a meta-analysis can be limited to only non-RCT studies.

True

True or false, a narrative summary of what you find during your review is considered a qualitative review?

True

When heterogeneity occurs in your review, you should use which of the following?

a random effects model

After you evaluate your literature search, what is the next step when assessing the evidence?

abstract your data

Whether or not participants follow all guidelines is referred to as:

adherence

Which of the following has the least validity when conducting a literature review?

case control studies

In ______________, comparisons are made between health outcomes (implications) and economic consideration for competing therapies.

decision analysis modeling

The aims of a systematic review are to:

define the extent and limits of the evidence facilitate decision making understand inconsistencies

The most important step in the systematic review process is:

develop your question

Systematic reviews attempt to answer which of the following?

direction of effect magnitude of effect consistency across studies

Comparative effectiveness research is done to compare _______________ or treatment for a specific disease or condition.

health care services

How well your study does what it says it was supposed to do is a measure of:

internal validity

In _______________, you model the system and random variables as they change over time.

markov modeling

Which of the following is used to conduct quantitative reviews in comparative effectiveness research?

meta-analyses

While planning a systematic review, the confidence in the effect would be __________ if further research may change the estimate:

moderate

Which of the following is a weakness associated with meta-analyses?

most of the data available will be efficacy data and not effectiveness data

Which of the following is not considered a type of gray literature?

newspaper articles

Which of the following is not an approach used in comparative effectiveness research?

patient centered outcome research institute

The degree of statistical certainty about an estimate of effect is:

precision

The probability of being treated given your background is know as a:

propensity score

When evaluating the literature to include in your systematic review, which of the following is important to consider?

scientific rigor or strength methodology validity

A failure to truly randomize placement in RCT may result in which kind of bias?

selection

How well the conclusions you draw are based on the data you collect is considered __________ validity.

statistical