08:50

Welcome and Introductions

09.00

Introduction to systematic reviews
Dr Amanda Barugh, Clinical Director, Medicine of the Elderly and Stroke Services, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh
* what is a systematic review?  * rapid reviews/umbrella reviews etc  * the overall process: randomised controlled trials and observational studies * planning a protocol: PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses); PROSPERO (International prospective register of systematic reviews)

09.20

Developing a research question (Patients, Interventions, Controls, Outcomes) - PICO
Professor Terry Quinn, David Cargill Chair in Geriatric Medicine, University of Glasgow
(pre-recorded)  @DrTerryQuinn
* using the PICO framework to create a research question * tips to develop your own question 

09.40

Systematic Searches: turning your review question into a searchable query
Mr Joshua David Cheyne, Academic Support Librarian, University of the West of Scotland
* from PICO to searching  * where to look  * what you need to know to approach a librarian 

10.30

Break

11.00

After the search 
Dr Akila Visvanathan, Consultant in Medicine for the Elderly and Stroke, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
* PRISMA flow chart  * screening studies; tools e.g. Covidence, Distiller, data extraction

11.30

Risk of bias 
Dr Atul Anand, Reader in Health Data Research, Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh
* sources of bias * risk of bias tools for randomised controlled trials and observational studies * reporting risk of bias

12.15

Lunch break

13.30

Piecing it together: presenting findings and writing up
Dr Emily Ball, Research Fellow, Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh (pre-recorded)
* Reporting findings according to PRISMA guidelines

13.50

Introduction to meta analysis
Dr Neshika Samarasekera, Consultant Neurologist and NRS Fellow, NHS Lothian (pre-recorded)
* when to use a meta-analysis (and when not to) * what data are required * clinical and statistical heterogeneity * forest plots

14.10

Break

14.40

From systematic reviews to guidelines recommendations

Clinical applications (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations - GRADE)
Professor Terry Quinn, David Cargill Chair in Geriatric Medicine, University of Glasgow
(pre-recorded) @DrTerryQuinn
* assessing the certainty of the evidence * applying the GRADE framework to systematic review results
 

15.10

Q&A and discussion
 

15.30

Close