Free and open-access online systematic review curriculum for broad audiences

Session: 

Oral session: Education and training

Date: 

Tuesday 18 September 2018 - 11:20 to 11:30

Location: 

Ochil 1

All authors in correct order:

Sullivan AJ1, Springs S1, Rofeberg V1, Kaminsky J1, Saldhana I1, Hall M1, Balk E1, Lau J1, Schmid C1
1 Center for Evidence Synthesis in Health, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, USA
Presenting author and contact person

Presenting author:

Christopher Schmid

Contact person:

Christopher Schmid
Abstract text
Background:
Systematic reviews are relevant to a range of audiences that typically do not have prior evidence synthesis training. These include patients, payers, advocacy groups, policy makers, librarians, journalists, and legislative staff. However, there is a dearth of free, open-access materials to help these audiences fully understand and use evidence syntheses.

Objectives:
To create and evaluate a free and open-access online curriculum designed to teach basic skills in the process of evidence synthesis to people without prior training.

Methods:
We assembled an interdisciplinary team comprising experts in health communication and online education. They worked with systematic review experts to transform existing educational materials into an online curriculum for audiences without formal research training. We will disseminate the curriculum to a range of these audiences for feedback and subsequent revision.

Results:
The curriculum includes eight modules covering:
1) a general introduction;
2) setting up a research team and identifying relevant stakeholders;
3) developing a research question;
4) searching for and screening studies;
5) extracting study data;
6) evaluating risk of bias;
7) analyzing data; and
8) reporting findings.
To aid learning, we also created short animations about basic systematic review concepts. We will report data on website traffic, such as unique page views, pages viewed per session, and course completion rates.

Conclusions:
Using an interdisciplinary approach, we have developed an online curriculum that is accessible to audiences without prior evidence synthesis training. The format allows the curriculum to be adapted for multiple audiences and easily updated to keep pace with evolving knowledge and theory. After completing this curriculum, interested people should be able to pursue systematic review projects with the help and support of evidence synthesis experts. Other audiences will have a greater understanding of how to use and interpret systematic review findings.

Patient or healthcare consumer involvement:
We will test course materials with a wide range of audiences including healthcare consumers, researchers, clinicians, and policy makers.

Attachments: 

Image icon intro_evsynth_screenshot.PNG
Image icon website_screenshot.PNG
Image icon sys_rev_animation_screenshot.PNG
PDF icon evsynth_curriculum_abstract.pdf

Relevance to patients and consumers: 

We discuss the development of free and open access systematic review curriculum that is accessible to the non-researcher. Understanding evidence-based claims is an important skill for researchers, medical staff and all patients/care-givers. Most training resources are geared towards a research audience or assume a great deal of background in evidence synthesis. However our material is specifically geared towards: patients, payers, advocacy groups, policy makers, librarians, journalists, and legislative staff.