Link List for Research and Practice Guidelines
AcademyHealth Methods Council: Suggested Guidelines for HSR Methods Reviews
Provides recommendations for reviewers when addressing apparent methodological flaws in articles or other products, including examples of both substandard and constructive reviews.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Measuring HealthCare Quality
Provides access to measures used to assess health care quality.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): National Healthcare Disparities Report
Provides a description of creating specific measures of access and disparities used in the Measuring HealthCare Quality report.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): National Quality Measures Clearinghouse
Provides information on quality measurement for practitioners, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers and others.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Finding Evidence on Ongoing Studies
Comparative effectiveness reviews may not always synthesize sufficient evidence to completely answer specific questions about healthcare topics. In response, this report aims to identify research gaps and make recommendations for future research to address these unanswered questions.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews
Through a collaborative effort of the Effective Health Care (EHC) Program, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the EHC Program Scientific Resource Center, and the AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Centers have developed a Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews. This Guide presents issues key to the development of Comparative Effectiveness Reviews and describes recommended approaches for addressing difficult, frequently encountered methodological issues.
Best Practices for Mixed Methods Research in the Health Sciences
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed this guidebook on best practices for development and evaluating mixed methods research.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Methodological Issues in Measuring Health Disparities
The report was created by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) under the CDC in their Vital and Health Statistics Series. The objective of the report is the discussion of six issues that affect the measurement of disparities in health between groups in a population. These issues represent choices that are made when disparities are measured.
Centre for Reviews and Disseminations (CRD)
This site provides numerous links describing systematic reviews, economic evaluations, and health technology assessments. Links to CRD Reports, databases, and other resources are also available.
CONSORT Extension: Abstracts
This extension to the CONSORT Statement provides a minimum and detailed list of elements that authors should include in an abstract when reporting the main results of a randomized trial in any journal or conference abstract. The abstract extension emphasizes a structured format for this section of a report.
CONSORT Extension: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trials
A modification to the CONSORT checklist with recommendations focusing on cluster trials. Cluster randomized trials (CRCTs) randomize interventions to groups of patients (e.g., families, medical practices) rather than to individual patients. This means that CRCTs use two different units of measurement—the cluster and the patient. This extension of CONSORT provides a checklist of 10 recommendations for reporting key aspects of design, analysis, and interpretation with CRCTs.
CONSORT Extension: Harms
This CONSORT extension of harms in RCTs addresses the need to improve reporting of harms-related data from RCTs. This extension includes ten reporting recommendations focusing on harms in addition to the main CONSORT checklist.
CONSORT Extension: Herbal Medicinal Interventions
This extension provides an additional 9 items to the CONSORT checklist focused on guidelines for testing and reporting of RCTs with herbal medications.
CONSORT Extension: Non-Inferiority and Equivalence Trials
A modification to the CONSORT checklist with recommendations for reporting of RCTs focused on non-inferiority or equivalence. Equivalence trials aim to determine whether one intervention is therapeutically similar to another while non-inferiority trials aim to determine whether one treatment is no worse than another. Non-inferiority and equivalence trials have specific features in terms of research design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation. The checklist provides illustrative examples and explanations for these items to enable readers to assess the validity of their results and conclusions.
CONSORT Extension: Non-Pharmacological Interventions
A modification to the CONSORT checklist with recommendations for reporting of RCTs focused on non-inferiority or equivalence. Equivalence trials aim to determine whether one intervention is therapeutically similar to another while non-inferiority trials aim to determine whether one treatment is no worse than another. Non-inferiority and equivalence trials have specific features in terms of research design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation. The checklist provides illustrative examples and explanations for these items to enable readers to assess the validity of their results and conclusions.
Consort Guide to Reporting the Results of Randomized Clinical Trials
CONSORT statement of guidelines for the conduct of RCTs.
EQUATOR Network
The EQUATOR Network is a resource aimed to improve the quality of health research reporting. The site offers reporting guidelines and resources for authors, editors, and developers of scientific publications.
Evidence Based Behavioral Practice
A training resource designed to improve understanding of evidence based behavioral practice (EBPP). Includes tools to improve the research and practice training base for behavioral and psychosocial treatments.
Future Research Needs – Methods Research Series
A new series of reports titled, “Future Research Needs – Methods Research,” is now available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). These publications provide guidance on methodological approaches to identifying gaps in clinical evidence. The reports complement the Future Research Needs series, which identifies gaps in clinical evidence so that researchers and funders can improve the body of knowledge for health care decision makers.
Good ReseArch for Comparative Effectiveness (GRACE)
The GRACE Initiative provides principles that address good practice for the design, conduct, analyses, and reporting of observational studies of comparative effectiveness. GRACE is not a compiled checklist or standard for studies or reports. The principles include criteria to identify, prepare, collect, analyze, conduct, and report studies.
GPP Guidelines to Publishing Practices for Pharmaceutical Studies
Publication Practice for Pharmaceutical Standards.
Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE)
The GRADE Working Group provides mechanisms for assessing and grading the quality and strength of evidence and recommendations in health care systems.
Health Research Classification System (HRCS)
Developed by the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Partners, the HRCS is a system for classifying the full spectrum of biomedical and health research - from basic to applied - across all areas of health and disease.
HHS Measures Inventory
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is committed to providing the public an inventory of the measures that are currently being used by the Divisions in HHS for quality measurement, improvement, and reporting. The Department's goal is to further advance collaboration among members of the quality community and to advance the effective use and harmonization of quality of care measures. The Department's transparency about the quality measures being used lays the foundation for the measurement enterprise and local users to build and improve upon. The HHS Measure Inventory is only accessible through the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC) Web site.
HSTAT (Health Services/Technology Assessment) Text
A collection of full-text clinical practice guidelines, technology assessments and health information. Full-text documents on health information and support for health care decision making are provided.
Human Subject Regulations Decision Charts
The Human Subject Regulations Decision Chart is used as a guide for Institutional Review Boards when research involves human subjects. The decision chart ensures that requirements of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are met in the research procedures.
Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: Background and Assessment Approaches
As part of the Australian Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Association, the framework consists of three parts that details the difficulties in assessing the economic impact of scientific endeavors, yet shows that the task is not impossible if the approach is considered at the commencement of the research project. The concepts are contextualized using CRCs as examples, and templates provided to assist researches plan and complete their impact assessments.
Institute of Medicine (IOM): Standards for Systematic Reviews
Recently released by the Institute of Medicine, this report recommends standards for systematic reviews of the comparative effectiveness of medical or surgical interventions.
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): Guide to Social Science Data Preparation and Archiving, 4th Edition
A step-by-step guide to best practices in designing and implementing a data archive. The objective of the project is to improve the ability for researchers to share data within the research community.
ISPOR-SMDM Joint Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force Recommendations
Developed by leading experts in decision analysis, economics, simulation, and health services, these seven reports provide comprehensive guidance for designing, implementing, and validating model-based studies to inform medical decision making.
Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE)
The MOOSE Statement provides a checklist for reporting meta-analyses of observational studies in epidemiology. Checklist items include reporting of the background, search strategy, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. The section on methods provides criteria on how to assess, document, describe, and report the components of the methods used in the meta-analyses of observational studies but are not formal recommendations on how to conduct a study.
Methods for the Development of NICE Public Health Guidance
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) produces guidance in public health, health technologies, interventional procedures, and clinical practice. This manual describes the methods used by the Centre for Public Health Excellence (CPHE) to develop the guidance in public health.
Model Public Report Elements: A Sampler
This AHRQ guide provides an illustrative menu of public report elements from health care provider performance reports from around the country , and is a free resource designed to help organizations that report provider performance develop web sites or improve existing ones. The example Web pages highlighted in the Sampler includes samples from public reporting web page and highlights their most effective elements, such as the landing page, presentation of measure ratings, consumer engagement tools, and a place for consumer input on the web site design. Additional examples illustrate functional possibilities of web sites and demonstrate how to facilitate use by consumers in their care. The 81-page Sampler was developed by researchers led by R. Adams Dudley, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco.
National Institutes of Health Mixed Methods Research Guidebook
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed this guidebook on best practices for development and evaluating mixed methods research.
National Library of Medicine (NLM): National Health Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR)
The NICHSR provides access to a variety of information, including current medical guidelines on a variety of topics; data tools and statistics; links to grant opportunities and other funding; ways to track federal and state legislation; meeting announcements; and training opportunities.
National Library of Medicine (NLM): Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC)
Provides assistance helping librarians plan evaluation of outreach activities to encourage public use data. The Center conducts educational activities designed to help staff target and measure outreach success, as well as offering information on best practices in outreach.
Quality, Safety Health Care Reporting Standards
Reporting Standards for Medical Research, published in Quality, Safety Health Care.
QUality of Reporting of Meta-Analysis (QUOROM)
The QUOROM Statements provides a checklist of recommendations and standards for improving the reporting of meta-analyses of clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The checklist covers best practices for presenting the 21 sections of a report. Sections include the abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion. The checklist does not provide specific instructions on study methods; however, the checklist's structure follows each step in the recommended process of conducting a meta-analyses.
The Qualitative Research Guidelines Project
The Qualitative Research Guidelines Project is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to assist individuals researching or reviewing qualitative research projects in healthcare settings. The website identifies and describes a range of qualitative research methods as well as interpretive and analytic approaches; identifies published criteria for designing high quality qualitative research; provides links to publications that exemplify excellence in qualitative research; and discusses issues involved in integrating qualitative and quantitative research in mixed and multi-method studies.
Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM)
The Education Modules of this website offers a review of the efficacy of diagnostic tests. The reference section provides links to PDFs for a number of publications. Overall, the website provides a forum for researchers and policymakers to connect and educate themselves regarding clinical decision making and public policy.
State Policy Guide: Using Research in Public Health Policymaking
This guide, published by The Council of State Governments, describes the benefits of using research results to make state policy decisions on public health and other health and human services concerns. In addition to considering budgetary constraints, how well a policy fits in your state, public opinion and other political factors, state legislators can effectively apply the cumulative lessons from public health research by working closely with researchers and other experts.
STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)
The STROBE Statement provides a checklist of topics that should be reported in articles about observational epidemiological studies. The checklist is not a rigid guide for designing or conducting the studies, rather, the recommendations are meant to provide assistance in developing complete and accurate reports. The focus is on three main observational study designs including cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. The STROBE checklist includes 22 items focusing on the major areas of a study, including the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections of articles.
US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)
OHRP works to promote safety of and protection for volunteers participating in health research. This site provides an overview of the organization, as well as regulations, policies, guidelines, and education. Upcoming conference information is also listed.
|