Fig. 1
Flow diagram of the identification, screening and identification of studies
Table 1
Review characteristics
|
Average number of included primary studies |
53 (Range 5–415) |
|---|---|
|
Populations included in reviews |
Single profession focus: 25 studies Multiple professions focus: 17 studies Medicine: 34 Nursing: 15 Dentistry: 9 Pharmacy: 7 Veterinary: 4 Other: 7 Unspecified: 3 |
|
Country of first author |
United Kingdom: 17 Canada: 8 Australia:5 United States: 4 Netherlands: 3 Ireland: 1 Bahrain: 1 Denmark: Iran: 1 |
|
Number of funded reviews |
17 |
Table 2
Inclusion of methodological details
|
Identification of studies | |
|
States and provides a rationale for how the searching was done |
Yes—40 (95%) No—2 (5%) |
|
Provides details on all the sources of information and dates searched |
Yes—36 (86%) No—6 (14%) |
|
Provides full search terms for at least one database with details of deviations in subsequent searches |
Yes, available in full-texta—21 (50%) Yes, available in supplement onlyb—13 (31%) No—8 (19%) |
|
Data extraction | |
|
Describes the process of data extraction |
Yes—39 (93%) No—3 (7%) |
|
Describes the process of contacting authors for confirmation of/or more data |
Yes—8 (19%) No—34 (81%) |
|
Inclusion/exclusion | |
|
Explains the method for judging inclusion/exclusion |
Yes—40 (95%) No—2 (5%) |
|
Describes quality appraisal tools used in data extraction and justifies its use |
Yes—41 (98%) No—1 (2%) |
|
Provides a flow diagram summarizing study selection |
Yes, available in full-text—28 (67%) Yes, available in supplement only—8 (19%) No—6 (19%) |
|
Synthesis | |
|
Describes methods for synthesizing primary studies |
Yes, across all studies: 28—(67%) No, across all studies: 14—(33%) Describes qualitative methods: 22 Describes quantitative methods: 6 Describes quantitative and qualitative methods: 4 |
aMaterials were considered available in full-text if they were present in the available PDF version from Medical Teacher
bMaterials were considered available in supplement only if they were not featured in the PDF version of the article, but were available on either the BEME or Medical Teacher website