Objectives:

This workshop will introduce participants to systematic reviews of prognostic studies. We will discuss challenges and will help participants formulate a prognostic review question. Using published examples and exercises, we will introduce methods and resources for conducting a systematic review of prognostic studies.

Description:

Prognosis is a description of the probable course (or prediction of the occurrence) of individuals with a certain health condition over time. Important to prognosis is consideration of characteristics or factors that are associated with or determine the course of the health condition. Healthcare professionals use prognostic information to educate and inform the management of their patients. Similar to research intervention effectiveness, prognostic evidence requires systematic and transparent synthesis. Although basic principles to reduce bias and random error are similar, there are several challenges unique to reviews of prognostic studies. In thisworkshopwewill discuss three main types of related prognosis questions: ‘What is the most likely course of this health condition?’ (average/overall prognosis); ‘What factors are associated with, or determine outcome?’ (prognostic factors); and ‘Are there risk groups who are likely to have different outcomes?’ (prognostic prediction models). We will introduce methods and resources for planning a systematic review of prognostic studies.