Systematic Reviews to Answer Health Care Questions

Accessible, practical, and student-friendly, Systematic Reviews to Answer Health Care Questions, Second Edition, by Dr. Heidi D. Nelson, uses easy-to-understand, step-by-step instruction and real-world examples to illustrate important concepts and principles of today’s systematic reviews. You’ll learn how to form key questions, select evidence, and perform comprehensive reviews not just in predictable circumstances, but when basic rules don’t apply—honing your ability to think critically and solve problems. Perfect for investigators, medical students and faculty, practitioners, policymakers, and others who need to refine their understanding of or approach to systematic reviews, this powerful text goes beyond merely teaching how to catalog and collect, helping readers learn to evaluate, synthesize, and deliver results that will help shape the practice of health care.

• Provides concise, easy-to-follow instruction on how to conduct a high-quality systematic review that meets current standards in the field—from key question formulation to assessing the quality of included studies and reporting results
• Features updated methods and revised case studies throughout, along with new chapters on assessing quality and applicability of additional study designs and electronic tools designed to automate or improve efficiency of systematic reviews
• Covers the essential, practical components of how to perform a systematic review, such as defining a review’s purpose and scope, developing research questions, building a team, and managing the project to maximize efficacy
• Offers a useful framework to help understand how evidence is evaluated, what it means, its weaknesses or assumptions, and more
• Shares the knowledge and expertise of Dr. Heidi D. Nelson, a leader in the field of systematic reviews for more than 25 years, whose work has been used in shaping healthcare guidelines and policy in the United States, along with a select group of expert contributing authors
• An ideal resource for investigators conducting their own systematic reviews; guideline and policy committees tasked with interpreting and applying systematic reviews; students learning the science of research design, critical appraisal, and grading strength of evidence; and practitioners or others outside of health care who need a better understanding of evidence