Objectives: The aim of this workshop is to consider the questions and information needed for test evaluation to inform decision-making. To evaluate tests, stakeholders need to use information beyond test accuracy, which may include information on the uptake of tests, the costs of tests, and the consequences of false test results.
Description: This workshop will be highly interactive, using a number of exemplar reviews of test accuracy to discuss what pieces of information, beyond test accuracy, are needed to help evaluate tests and inform decision making. These discussions will reflect on the lay summaries of Cochrane diagnostic test accuracy reviews and the extent to which they consider additional test information for decision-making. Using a structured framework, we will facilitate discussion on:
1. Who are the decision-makers using Cochrane reviews?
2. What questions are they hoping to answer?
3. What information are they likely to need beyond test accuracy?
4. Where might, and should, they look for such information?
5. How is this information synthesised and interpreted?
Considering the additional information needed to evaluate tests, and pointing decision-makers in the right direct to obtain this information will provide a starting point to develop a more comprehensive and systematic way of synthesizing evidence that can help various stakeholders make decisions about medical tests.