Article type
Abstract
Background
Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks aim to help people making health care recommendations move from evidence to decisions in a structured and transparent way. The impact on equity, acceptability, and feasibility of interventions can influence decision-making processes. However, there is still scarce guidance on how to incorporate evidence on these important aspects into the EtD frameworks.
Objectives
To describe a working example on applying synthesis methods to inform the impact on equity, acceptability, and feasibility of interventions within the guidelines' development process.
Methods
We conducted overviews of systematic reviews (SRs) to assess the impact on equity, acceptability, and feasibility of cancer screening and prevention strategies. This evidence will inform recommendations for 2 different guidelines about cancer screening. After noting practices that were consuming unnecessary time and resources, we improved our review process by making adjustments to facilitate getting more useful and targeted results in a more timely manner. We have incorporated these findings into the EtD frameworks and will evaluate the impact on ongoing discussions about recommendations.
Results
We found that setting precise and specific selection criteria and combining search strategies across EtD domains helped us to more efficiently identify relevant information. Locating studies through other sources and screening them in parallel, with regular meetings at the outset, facilitated completion of the syntheses when time and personnel were limited. Additionally, maintaining a clean and clearly labelled master evidence file helped to transfer relevant information to the EtD frameworks smoothly. We expect that SRs identified will help formulate recommendations.
Conclusions
By conducting overviews of reviews, setting clear and specific selection criteria, and maintaining living documents of all evidence, we are able to more easily incorporate our findings into EtD frameworks. We will present how these overviews contributed to decision-making and formulation of recommendations.
Relevance
Using a pragmatic strategy to gather evidence from SRs can help ensure that all important EtD frameworks' criteria, including the impact on equity, acceptability, and feasibility of interventions, are considered and that the best available evidence is used for decision-making processes.
Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks aim to help people making health care recommendations move from evidence to decisions in a structured and transparent way. The impact on equity, acceptability, and feasibility of interventions can influence decision-making processes. However, there is still scarce guidance on how to incorporate evidence on these important aspects into the EtD frameworks.
Objectives
To describe a working example on applying synthesis methods to inform the impact on equity, acceptability, and feasibility of interventions within the guidelines' development process.
Methods
We conducted overviews of systematic reviews (SRs) to assess the impact on equity, acceptability, and feasibility of cancer screening and prevention strategies. This evidence will inform recommendations for 2 different guidelines about cancer screening. After noting practices that were consuming unnecessary time and resources, we improved our review process by making adjustments to facilitate getting more useful and targeted results in a more timely manner. We have incorporated these findings into the EtD frameworks and will evaluate the impact on ongoing discussions about recommendations.
Results
We found that setting precise and specific selection criteria and combining search strategies across EtD domains helped us to more efficiently identify relevant information. Locating studies through other sources and screening them in parallel, with regular meetings at the outset, facilitated completion of the syntheses when time and personnel were limited. Additionally, maintaining a clean and clearly labelled master evidence file helped to transfer relevant information to the EtD frameworks smoothly. We expect that SRs identified will help formulate recommendations.
Conclusions
By conducting overviews of reviews, setting clear and specific selection criteria, and maintaining living documents of all evidence, we are able to more easily incorporate our findings into EtD frameworks. We will present how these overviews contributed to decision-making and formulation of recommendations.
Relevance
Using a pragmatic strategy to gather evidence from SRs can help ensure that all important EtD frameworks' criteria, including the impact on equity, acceptability, and feasibility of interventions, are considered and that the best available evidence is used for decision-making processes.