Articles

Efficacy and safety of clinically managed weight loss programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Obesity has become a major driver in the burden of chronic diseases. The Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend a lifestyle intervention for the management and prevention of obesity. This includes beh...

Authors: Katrina Cachero, Matthew Granger, Rebecca C. Mollard, Nicole Askin, George N. Okoli, Ahmed M. Abou-Setta and Dylan MacKay

Racial and ethnic disparities in viral acute respiratory infections in the United States: protocol of a systematic review

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted consistent inequities in incidence, disease severity, and mortality across racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States (US) and beyond...

Authors: Neia Prata Menezes, Jowanna Malone, Carrie Lyons, Kechna Cadet, Lorraine Dean, Gregorio Millett and Stefan Baral

Initiatives addressing precarious employment and its effects on workers’ health and well-being: a protocol for a systematic review

Precarious employment is a significant determinant of population health and health inequities and has complex public health consequences both for a given nation and internationally. Precarious employment is co...

Authors: Virginia Gunn, Carin Håkansta, Emilia Vignola, Nuria Matilla-Santander, Bertina Kreshpaj, David H. Wegman, Christer Hogstedt, Emily Q. Ahonen, Carles Muntaner, Sherry Baron and Theo Bodin

Effect modification of the association between comorbidities and severe course of COVID-19 disease by age of study participants: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Comprehensive evidence synthesis on the associations between comorbidities and behavioural factors with hospitalisation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death due to COVID-19 is required for deriving ...

Authors: Nathalie Verónica Fernández Villalobos, Jördis Jennifer Ott, Carolina Judith Klett-Tammen, Annabelle Bockey, Patrizio Vanella, Gérard Krause and Berit Lange

What are the variables associated with Altmetric scores?

Social media has been used to disseminate the contents of scientific articles. To measure the impact of this, a new tool called Altmetric was created. Altmetric aims to quantify the impact of each article through...

Authors: Amanda Costa Araujo, Adriane Aver Vanin, Dafne Port Nascimento, Gabrielle Zoldan Gonzalez and Leonardo Oliveira Pena Costa

Impact of abortion law reforms on women’s health services and outcomes: a systematic review protocol

A country’s abortion law is a key component in determining the enabling environment for safe abortion. While restrictive abortion laws still prevail in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), many count...

Authors: Foluso Ishola, U. Vivian Ukah and Arijit Nandi

Application of weighting methods for presenting risk-of-bias assessments in systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies

An assessment of the validity of individual diagnostic accuracy studies in systematic reviews is necessary to guide the analysis and the interpretation of results. Such an assessment is performed for each incl...

Authors: Yasaman Vali, Mariska M. G. Leeflang and Patrick M. M. Bossuyt

A scoping review of researchers’ involvement in health policy dialogue in Africa

Improving evidence-informed policy dialogue to support the development and implementation of national health policies is vital, but there is limited evidence on researchers’ roles in policy dialogue processes ...

Authors: Doris Yimgang, Georges Danhoundo, Elizabeth Kusi-Appiah, Vijit Sunder, Sandra Campbell and Sanni Yaya

Team functioning and implementation of innovations in healthcare and human service settings: a systematic review protocol

Healthcare and human services increasingly rely on teams of individuals to deliver services. Implementation of evidence-based practices and other innovations in these settings requires teams to work together t...

Authors: Elizabeth A. McGuier, David J. Kolko, Mary Lou Klem, Jamie Feldman, Grace Kinkler, Matthew A. Diabes, Laurie R. Weingart and Courtney Benjamin Wolk

Therapeutic potential of pluripotent stem cell-derived dopaminergic progenitors in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review protocol

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common age-dependent neurodegenerative disease that causes motor and cognitive disabilities. This disease is associated with a loss of dopamine content within the pu...

Authors: Aliasghar Karimi, Mitra Elmi, Zahra Shiri and Hossein Baharvand

Cognitive interventions in children and adolescents from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: a systematic review protocol of randomized controlled trials

Many studies have evaluated the effects that a lack of resources has in children’s physical and cognitive development. Although there are reviews that have focused on applied interventions from different persp...

Authors: Rosalba Company-Córdoba, Antonio Sianes, Ian Craig Simpson and Joaquín A. Ibáñez-Alfonso

Low birth weight as a predictor of adverse health outcomes during adulthood in twins: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Low birth weight might affect adverse health outcomes during a lifetime. Our study analyzes the association between low birth weight and negative health outcomes during adulthood in twin populations.

Authors: Sapha Hassan, Shayesteh Jahanfar, Joseph Inungu and Jeffrey M. Craig

The health impacts of preventive cardiovascular medication reduction on older populations: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Polypharmacy is inevitable and appropriate for many conditions, but in some cases, it can be problematic resulting in an increased risk of harm and reduced quality of life. There has been an increasing interes...

Authors: Rik S. van der Veen, Joseph J. Lee, Richard J. McManus, Richard F. D. Hobbs, Kamal R. Mahtani, Constantinos Koshiaris and James P. Sheppard

Peer-to-peer health promotion interventions among African American men: a scoping review protocol

Health promotion efforts among African American men have been met with significant challenges and have produced limited results. Interventions that do not align with the values, perspectives, and preferences o...

Authors: Guillermo M. Wippold, Sarah Grace Frary, Demetrius Abshire and Dawn K. Wilson

Health outcomes of sexual and gender minorities after cancer: a systematic review

Cancer research on sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations is gaining momentum. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine what is currently known in the research literature regarding patient-re...

Authors: Mandi L. Pratt-Chapman, Ash B. Alpert and Daniel A. Castillo

Exploring the comorbidity of musculoskeletal and personality disorders among adults: a scoping review protocol

Separately, mental and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are prevalent across the life course and are leading contributors to disability worldwide. While people with personality disorder (PD) have been shown to...

Authors: Shae E. Quirk, Heli Koivumaa-Honkanen, Risto Honkanen, Jeremi Heikkinen, Bianca E. Kavanagh and Lana J. Williams

The lived experience of people with obesity: study protocol for a systematic review and synthesis of qualitative studies

Obesity is a prevalent, complex, progressive and relapsing chronic disease characterised by abnormal or excessive body fat that impairs health and quality of life. It affects more than 650 million adults world...

Authors: Emma Farrell, Marta Bustillo, Carel W. le Roux, Joe Nadglowski, Eva Hollmann and Deirdre McGillicuddy

Mapping evidence on management of cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: scoping review protocol

Cancer is a non-communicable disease and is the number 2 leading cause of death globally. Among all cancers, cervical cancer is the number 1 killer of women in low-income countries (LICs). Cervical cancer is a...

Authors: Petmore Zibako, Mbuzeleni Hlongwa, Nomsa Tsikai, Sarah Manyame and Themba G. Ginindza

Digital technologies to support people living with dementia in the care home setting to engage in meaningful occupations: protocol for a scoping review

People living with all stages of dementia should have the opportunity to participate in meaningful occupations. For those living in care homes, this may not always occur and residents may spend significant par...

Authors: Nicholas Luscombe, Sarah Morgan-Trimmer, Sharon Savage and Louise Allan

Improved couple satisfaction and communication with marriage and relationship programs: are there gender differences?—a systematic review and meta-analysis

The aspects of marriage and relationship and their effect on couples’ satisfaction are essential and critical aspects to be explored in this globalized and contemporary world. Since there are no reported meta-...

Authors: Zeinab Javadivala, Hamid Allahverdipour, Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi, Somaye Azimi, Neda Gilani and Vijay Kumar Chattu

Red blood cell transfusion in animal models of acute brain injuries: a systematic review protocol

Anemia is common in neurocritically ill patients. Considering the limited clinical evidence in this population, preclinical data may provide some understanding of the potential impact of anemia and of red bloo...

Authors: Mathieu Laflamme, Hourmazd Haghbayan, Manoj M. Lalu, Ryan Zarychanski, François Lauzier, Amélie Boutin, Malcolm R. Macleod, Dean A. Fergusson, Lynne Moore, Olivier Costerousse, Jacques Lacroix, Cheryl Wellington, Jamie Hutchison and Alexis F. Turgeon

A systematic review on the effectiveness of implementation strategies to postpone elective caesarean sections to ≥ 39 + (0–6) weeks of gestation

Caesarean sections often have no urgent indication and are electively planned. Research showed that elective caesarean section should not be performed until 39 + (0–6) weeks of gestation to ensure best neonata...

Authors: Barbara Prediger, Anahieta Heu-Parvaresch, Stephanie Polus, Stefanie Bühn, Edmund A. M. Neugebauer and Pieper Dawid

Dealing with predatory journal articles captured in systematic reviews

Systematic reviews appraise and synthesize the results from a body of literature. In healthcare, systematic reviews are also used to develop clinical practice guidelines. An increasingly common concern among s...

Authors: Danielle B. Rice, Becky Skidmore and Kelly D. Cobey

The influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms of NOD2 or CD14 on the risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis diseases: a systematic review

Tuberculosis (TB) is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Genetic studies have pointed to the relevance of the NOD2 and CD14 polymorphic alleles in association with the risk of diseases caused by M...

Authors: Juan M. Cubillos-Angulo, Catarina D. Fernandes, Davi N. Araújo, Cristinna A. Carmo, María B. Arriaga and Bruno B. Andrade

Management of patellofemoral joint osteoarthritis using biomechanical device therapy: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Current clinical guidelines recommend conservative management including non-pharmacologic therapy prior to considering surgery for knee OA. There is a paucity of clinical trials investigating the use of biomec...

Authors: Michael J. Callaghan, Elizabeth Palmer and Terence O’Neill

Post-abortion family planning use, method preference, and its determinant factors in Eastern Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Utilization of post-abortion family planning is very critical to reduce high levels of unintended pregnancy, which is the root cause of induced abortion. In Eastern Africa, it is estimated that as many as 95% ...

Authors: Asmamaw Demis Bizuneh and Getnet Gedefaw Azeze

Duloxetine versus ‘active’ placebo, placebo or no intervention for major depressive disorder; a protocol for a systematic review of randomised clinical trials with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

Major depression significantly impairs quality of life, increases the risk of suicide, and poses tremendous economic burden on individuals and societies. Duloxetine, a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibit...

Authors: Faiza Siddiqui, Marija Barbateskovic, Sophie Juul, Kiran Kumar Katakam, Klaus Munkholm, Christian Gluud and Janus Christian Jakobsen

A survey of methodologies on causal inference methods in meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials

Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been considered as the highest level of evidence in the pyramid of the evidence-based medicine. However, the causal interpretation of such results is s...

Authors: Georgios Markozannes, Georgia Vourli and Evangelia Ntzani

Healthcare provider characteristics that influence the implementation of individual-level patient-centered outcome measure (PROM) and patient-reported experience measure (PREM) data across practice settings: a protocol for a mixed methods systematic review with a narrative synthesis

Substantial literature has highlighted the importance of patient-reported outcome and experience measures (PROMs and PREMs, respectively) to collect clinically relevant information to better understand and add...

Authors: Angela C. Wolff, Andrea Dresselhuis, Samar Hejazi, Duncan Dixon, Deborah Gibson, A. Fuchsia Howard, Sarah Liva, Barbara Astle, Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham, Vanessa K. Noonan and Lisa Edwards

Correction to: Community mobilisation approaches to preventing and reducing adolescent multiple risk behaviour: a realist review protocol

Authors: Laura Tinner, Deborah Caldwell and Rona Campbell

Access to and experience of education for children and adolescents with cancer: a scoping review protocol

Cancer diagnosis in childhood or adolescence impacts significantly on school attendance, experience and educational outcomes. While there is longstanding recognition in clinical practice that these effects spa...

Authors: Gemma Bryan, Paula Kelly, Heather Chesters, Jayne Franklin, Helen Griffiths, Loveday Langton, Luke Langton, Claire E. Wakefield and Faith Gibson

Non-pharmacological sleep interventions for pediatric cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review protocol

Sleep disturbances constitute a common complication in pediatric cancer patients and survivors and are frequently severe enough to warrant treatment. Suboptimal sleep has been associated with decreased emotion...

Authors: Peter L. Stavinoha, Ineke M. Olsthoorn, Maria C. Swartz, Sara Nowakowski, Stephanie J. Wells, Rachel S. Hicklen, Irtiza Sheikh and Hannah J. Jang

Factors leading to effective social participation promotion interventions for people with intellectual disability: a protocol for a systematic review

People with intellectual disabilities have been historically excluded from decision-making processes. Previous literature indicates that increasing social participation may be an effective way to address this ...

Authors: Andrés Aparicio, Paulina Arango, Rosario Espinoza, Vicente Villate and Marcela Tenorio

The impacts of health systems financing fragmentation in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review protocol

Health systems are often fragmented in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This can increase inefficiencies and restrict progress towards universal health coverage. The objective of the systematic review...

Authors: Marina Siqueira, Maíra Coube, Christopher Millett, Rudi Rocha and Thomas Hone

Measurement properties of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in patients with hyperhidrosis: protocol for a systematic review

Hyperhidrosis is a chronic skin condition that impairs the patient’s quality of life (QoL). There are several patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for patients affected by hyperhidrosis available; however...

Authors: Michaela Gabes, Helge Knüttel and Christian J. Apfelbacher

Developing a topic-based repository of clinical trial individual patient data: experiences and lessons learned from a pilot project

Building a dataset of individual participant data (IPD) for meta-analysis represents considerable research investment as well as collaboration across multiple institutions and researchers. Making arrangements ...

Authors: Nancy Medley, Anna Cuthbert, Richard Crew, Lesley Stewart, Catrin Tudur Smith and Zarko Alfirevic

Interventions directed at men for preventing intimate partner violence: a systematic review protocol

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a population health problem linked to a myriad of negative psychological, physical, emotional, sexual and reproductive health outcomes for women. The movement towards working...

Authors: Dina Idriss-Wheeler, Julia Hajjar and Sanni Yaya

Molecular mechanisms of Zika virus teratogenesis from animal studies: a systematic review protocol

Due to the diversity of studies in animal models reporting that molecular mechanisms are involved in the teratogenic effect of the Zika virus (ZIKV), the objective of the present study is to evaluate the metho...

Authors: Gabriela Elis Wachholz, Julia do Amaral Gomes, Juliano André Boquett, Fernanda Sales Luiz Vianna, Lavínia Schuler-Faccini and Lucas Rosa Fraga

Anti-epileptic drug exposure during pregnancy and neonatal birth weight outcomes: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

The prevalence of epilepsy in pregnant women is estimated at 0.3-1%. Anti-epileptic drug (AED) exposure in-utero has been associated with various adverse health outcomes in neonates, including adverse birth we...

Authors: Alekhya Lavu, Christine Vaccaro, Walid Shouman, Silvia Alessi Severini and Sherif Eltonsy

Evidence on collaboration of traditional and biomedical practitioners in the management of antimicrobial resistance in sub-Saharan Africa over 15 years: a systematic review protocol

The overuse of prescribed antimicrobials, concurrent use of traditional medicine, and prescribed antimicrobials have led to antimicrobial resistance. The absence of collaboration between traditional health pra...

Authors: Aganze Gloire-Aimé Mushebenge, Mukanda Gedeon Kadima, Tivani Mashamba-Thompson and Manimbulu Nlooto

Dzherelo (Immunoxel) as adjunctive therapy to standard antituberculosis treatment in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Dzherelo (Immunoxel) is one of the few approved immunomodulators that has been shown to produce positive treatment outcomes in patients with tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this review was to assess the effectiv...

Authors: Marcel Kitenge, Bessie Phiri, Sara M. Pheeha, Modupe Ogunrombi and Peter S. Nyasulu

Text mining to support abstract screening for knowledge syntheses: a semi-automated workflow

Current text mining tools supporting abstract screening in systematic reviews are not widely used, in part because they lack sensitivity and precision. We set out to develop an accessible, semi-automated “work...

Authors: Ba’ Pham, Jelena Jovanovic, Ebrahim Bagheri, Jesmin Antony, Huda Ashoor, Tam T. Nguyen, Patricia Rios, Reid Robson, Sonia M. Thomas, Jennifer Watt, Sharon E. Straus and Andrea C. Tricco

A systematic and meta-analysis review on the diagnostic accuracy of antibodies in the serological diagnosis of COVID-19

Serological testing based on different antibody types are an alternative method being used to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 and has the potential of having higher diagnostic accuracy compared to the current gold standar...

Authors: Arthur Vengesai, Herald Midzi, Maritha Kasambala, Hamlet Mutandadzi, Tariro L. Mduluza-Jokonya, Simbarashe Rusakaniko, Francisca Mutapi, Thajasvarie Naicker and Takafira Mduluza

Beneficial and harmful effects of antidepressants versus placebo, ‘active placebo’, or no intervention for adults with major depressive disorder: a protocol for a systematic review of published and unpublished data with meta-analyses and trial sequential analyses

Major depressive disorder is one of the most common, burdensome, and costly psychiatric disorders worldwide. Antidepressants are frequently used to treat major depressive disorder. It has been shown repeatedly...

Authors: Sophie Juul, Faiza Siddiqui, Marija Barbateskovic, Caroline Kamp Jørgensen, Michael Pascal Hengartner, Irving Kirsch, Christian Gluud and Janus Christian Jakobsen

Mapping evidence on standards and quality of care for older persons in long-term care facilities: a scoping review protocol

Ageing is a global and universal process that results in physiological, psychological and behavioural changes. Due to the changing needs of the individual and the circumstances of the family, long-term care of...

Authors: Letasha Kalideen, Pragashnie Govender, Jacqueline Marina van Wyk and Desmond Kuupiel

Vaginal progesterone for prevention of preterm birth in asymptomatic high-risk women with a normal cervical length: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Preterm birth (PTB) is estimated to affect 14.9 million babies globally every year. Global rates of PTB continue to increase from 9.8 to 10.6% over a 15-year period from 2000 to 2014. Vaginal progesterone is c...

Authors: Kimberley P. Williams, Liam McAuliffe, Rosanna Diacci, Anne-Marie Aubin, Ashad Issah, Carol Wang, Jason Phung and Craig E. Pennell

The effects of meditation on length of telomeres in healthy individuals: a systematic review

Meditation-based practices have been suggested to result in many biological benefits which include reduction of attrition of telomeres, the protective nucleotide-protein complexes at termini of eukaryotic chro...

Authors: Nirodhi N. Dasanayaka, Nirmala D. Sirisena and Nilakshi Samaranayake

Effectiveness of matching human leukocyte antigens (HLA) in corneal transplantation: a systematic review protocol

Corneal transplantation is the most frequently performed transplantation in the UK. Despite this, the therapeutic value of matching human leukocyte antigen (HLA) subtypes for transplanted corneas remains contr...

Authors: Gagandeep Singh Sachdeva, Joshua Piollo Cabada, Syed Saad Karim, Dmitry Lakvin Kahandawa, Kevin Anil Thomas, Anusha Kumar, Robert J. Barry and Gibran Farook Butt

Prognostic models for knee osteoarthritis: a protocol for systematic review, critical appraisal, and meta-analysis

Osteoarthritis is the most common degenerative joint disease. It is associated with significant socioeconomic burden and poor quality of life, mainly due to knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and related total knee ar...

Authors: Jingyu Zhong, Liping Si, Guangcheng Zhang, Jiayu Huo, Yue Xing, Yangfan Hu, Huan Zhang and Weiwu Yao

Prevalence and incidence of venous leg ulcers—a protocol for a systematic review

Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) are chronic wounds characterized by slow healing and high recurrence. Information on prevalence and incidence is essential for ascertaining the burden of VLU on the health care system ...

Authors: S. Probst, C. D. Weller, P. Bobbink, C. Saini, M. Pugliese, Monika Buehrer Skinner and G. Gethin