Improving the Search Strategy of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis
Journal Title: International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery - Year 2017, Vol 5, Issue 4
Abstract
Dear Editor-in-Chief; International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery The International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery published an article entitled: “Health related quality of life in Iranian elderly citizens: A systematic review and meta-analysis” in its volume 5, issue 2.1 Thanks to the authors of this paper, we decided to point out some of our concerns about the paper. As you know, searching and finding relevant studies and pooling their data as a meta-analysis are very technical and time-consuming tasks.2 Then for a systematic review, it is vital to include all necessary and related databases. However, the current study did not include ISI Web of Science (WoS). Our examination shows that at least three key articles which all used SF-36 questionnaire for the elderly were not retrieved through the authors’ electronic database searching, including Abbasimoghadam,3 Farhadi4 and Rakhshani.5 This can be due to either exclusion of WoS or rather insensitive search strategy. Altogether, due to the lack of a comprehensive data searching and missing certain key papers in the systematic review, the result of the meta-analysis could be questionable. From our perspective, another shortcoming in the review is the way the result of meta-analysis is reported. The analysis reports just a pooled mean for SF-36 score, neglecting the mean score for each of the eight SF-36 domains. Sure, otherwise, the meta-analysis would be more informative and allow the authorities to make better policies and decisions based on the results. Therefore, with respect to the authors for their notice to the issue of the elderly people in Iran, we think that based on the above-mentioned concerns, possibly, the results are not a precise estimation of Iranian elderly’s health related quality of life.
Authors and Affiliations
Sougand Tourani, Aidin Aryankhesal, Masoud Behzadifar
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP233722
- DOI -
- Views 85
- Downloads 0
Sexual Experience of Iranian Women in Their Middle Life: A Qualitative Approach
Background: Sexual problems are common among the middle-aged women; however, there is no deep understanding of sexuality in midlife. The current study aimed to investigate Iranian women’s attitudes and experiences about...
Effect of Group Counseling on Parents’ Self-Efficacy, Knowledge, Attitude, and Communication Practice in Preventing Sexual Abuse of Children Aged 2-6 Years: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Background: The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of group counseling on parents’ self-efficacy, knowledge, attitude, and communication practice in preventing sexual abuse of children aged 2-6 years. Metho...
Effect of Text Messaging-based Psychiatric Nursing Program on Quality of Life in Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Background: Recurrent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can devastate the life of a veteran. Despite the widespread use of mobile learning technology in health care and nursing, few studies have examined its potentia...
Effects of the Problem Solving Technique in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Background: Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder, one of the lesser known of whose consequences is cognitive disorder. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of problem-solving technique in type 2 diabetic...
Effect of Health Literacy Education on Self-Care in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Background: Prenatal care reduces the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The present study aimed to determine the effect of health literacy education on self-care in pregnant women. Methods: The present randomized contr...