Uptake of Systematic Review Evidence Clinical Trial
Official title:
A Randomized Trial to Compare the Effects of a Novel Versus Traditional Systematic Review Format on the Ability of Health Care Managers and Policy Makers to Understand and Apply Evidence
The purpose of this project is to identify and use our knowledge on the barriers and facilitators to using systematic reviews (SR) by health care managers (HCM) and policy markers (PM) to develop and test a novel format for presentation of SR for HCM and PM. We will invite HCM and PM from hospitals and regional authorities in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia to participate in a randomized-control trial. Participants will receive a link to an online consent survey, and then be randomly allocated to receive access to a novel SR or its traditional presentation. There is no time limit to completing the task, and participants are able to save their responses and finish later. Participants are able to withdraw from the study by not completing the task.
Despite advances in the conduct and reporting of traditional systematic reviews, current
evidence suggests that they are used infrequently by health care managers and policy makers
in decision making. Managers and policy makers have suggested that concise presentation
positively affects the use of systematic reviews. The purpose of this randomized controlled
trial is to assess the impact of a traditional systematic review format compared with the
innovative format on the ability of health care managers and policy makers to understand the
evidence in the review and apply it to a relevant health care decision making scenario.
The two end-user groups have different formatting needs and we will therefore run 2 parallel
studies, randomizing each group separately. Once participants have consented to participate,
a computer generated randomization process will allocate them to one of 2 arms (1:1 ratio).
Participants will either receive either a traditional format or a novel format. Unequal block
randomization will be used and allocation will be concealed through central assignment.
Outcomes assessors will be blinded and participants will be blinded to the citation of the
review so that the traditional version will not be easily accessible in its original format
from the relevant journal.
This study will be the first study to engage health care managers and policy makers in the
testing of formats for presentation of research evidence relevant to their needs. The results
of the project will help increase the uptake of systematic review results in health care
management policy decision-making, ultimately leading to informed decision making and
positively impacting the health of Canadians.
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