Systematic reviews and meta-analysis

This course can be used as part of the research training for Epidemiologist (A/B) 

Many PhD students will perform a systematic review as part of their research project. In some systematic reviews the results of several studies will be combined in a meta-analysis. This course will provide an overview of the steps, principal and practical, of systematic reviews, including design and conduct of literature searches, data extraction and presentation, methodological quality (risk of bias) assessment of studies and examination of publication bias and other biases. The course will provide statistical methods for the combination of results in meta-analysis. The focus of the course is systematic reviews of intervention studies. We will not discuss other types of reviews, such as scoping reviews, systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies, or systematic reviews of observational studies (i.e. etiology, prognosis).

The general teaching aim is to provide PhD students with knowledge and skills needed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis, under the supervision of experienced researchers.

The 7-day intensive course will include a mix of lectures and hands-on work in groups and computer practical´s. Senior staff will be involved as lecturers and tutors. Students will have to read articles prior to and during the course (evenings) corresponding to a total of 10 hours of student work.

By the end of the course the PhD students will be able to

1.   Formulate a clear research question for a systematic review and understand their key motivations for doing the systematic review
2.   Specify the eligibility criteria for a systematic review
3.   Develop a search strategy for a systematic review
4.   Select an appropriate quality assessment tool
5.   Prepare and perform a quality appraisal and data extraction of eligible studies for a systematic review
6.   Able to discover publication bias
7.   Identify and discuss sources of heterogeneity among the studies in a systematic review
8.   Develop a statistical analysis plan for a systematic review including weighing quality in this process
9.   Able to conduct a meta-analysis, subgroup and sensitivity analyses
10. Conduct, report and update a systematic review
11. Use this knowledge to assess the quality of systematic review performed by others   

Assumed pre-knowledge
A basic understanding of the research design, statistical analysis (Book: Statistics at Square One), strengths and weaknesses of randomized controlled trials

Compulsory literature
Binder with course material.

Recommended
Course material via Brightspace and books.

Preparation (please read the following papers):
• PRISMA statement and Consort-statement (see www.equator-network.org)

Exam (final assignment) / assessment
In principle, 100% attendance is required. Exam is obligatory.
For the final assignment/examination please bring your laptop. 

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Extra information
Examples in this course are related to Public Health, Epidemiology, and Health Services Research.

Location: ONLY on site! NOT online or hybrid.

NB. The course in Fall (1st semester) is NOT open for CPE-students.
CPE-students can participate in the course that will be given in April and will have to pre-register at CPE.