Current trends in the application of causal inference methods to pooled longitudinal non-randomised data: a protocol for a methodological systematic review
Standard
Current trends in the application of causal inference methods to pooled longitudinal non-randomised data: a protocol for a methodological systematic review. / Yeboah, Edmund; Mauer, Nicole Sibilla; Hufstedler, Heather; Carr, Sinclair; Matthay, Ellicott C; Maxwell, Lauren; Rahman, Sabahat; Debray, Thomas; de Jong, Valentijn M T; Campbell, Harlan; Gustafson, Paul; Jänisch, Thomas; Bärnighausen, Till.
in: BMJ OPEN, Jahrgang 11, Nr. 11, e052969, 12.11.2021.Publikationen: SCORING: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift/Zeitung › SCORING: Review › Forschung
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Current trends in the application of causal inference methods to pooled longitudinal non-randomised data: a protocol for a methodological systematic review
AU - Yeboah, Edmund
AU - Mauer, Nicole Sibilla
AU - Hufstedler, Heather
AU - Carr, Sinclair
AU - Matthay, Ellicott C
AU - Maxwell, Lauren
AU - Rahman, Sabahat
AU - Debray, Thomas
AU - de Jong, Valentijn M T
AU - Campbell, Harlan
AU - Gustafson, Paul
AU - Jänisch, Thomas
AU - Bärnighausen, Till
N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2021/11/12
Y1 - 2021/11/12
N2 - INTRODUCTION: Causal methods have been adopted and adapted across health disciplines, particularly for the analysis of single studies. However, the sample sizes necessary to best inform decision-making are often not attainable with single studies, making pooled individual-level data analysis invaluable for public health efforts. Researchers commonly implement causal methods prevailing in their home disciplines, and how these are selected, evaluated, implemented and reported may vary widely. To our knowledge, no article has yet evaluated trends in the implementation and reporting of causal methods in studies leveraging individual-level data pooled from several studies. We undertake this review to uncover patterns in the implementation and reporting of causal methods used across disciplines in research focused on health outcomes. We will investigate variations in methods to infer causality used across disciplines, time and geography and identify gaps in reporting of methods to inform the development of reporting standards and the conversation required to effect change.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search four databases (EBSCO, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science) using a search strategy developed with librarians from three universities (Heidelberg University, Harvard University, and University of California, San Francisco). The search strategy includes terms such as 'pool*', 'harmoniz*', 'cohort*', 'observational', variations on 'individual-level data'. Four reviewers will independently screen articles using Covidence and extract data from included articles. The extracted data will be analysed descriptively in tables and graphically to reveal the pattern in methods implementation and reporting. This protocol has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020143148).ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval was required as only publicly available data were used. The results will be submitted as a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal, disseminated in conferences if relevant, and published as part of doctoral dissertations in Global Health at the Heidelberg University Hospital.
AB - INTRODUCTION: Causal methods have been adopted and adapted across health disciplines, particularly for the analysis of single studies. However, the sample sizes necessary to best inform decision-making are often not attainable with single studies, making pooled individual-level data analysis invaluable for public health efforts. Researchers commonly implement causal methods prevailing in their home disciplines, and how these are selected, evaluated, implemented and reported may vary widely. To our knowledge, no article has yet evaluated trends in the implementation and reporting of causal methods in studies leveraging individual-level data pooled from several studies. We undertake this review to uncover patterns in the implementation and reporting of causal methods used across disciplines in research focused on health outcomes. We will investigate variations in methods to infer causality used across disciplines, time and geography and identify gaps in reporting of methods to inform the development of reporting standards and the conversation required to effect change.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search four databases (EBSCO, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science) using a search strategy developed with librarians from three universities (Heidelberg University, Harvard University, and University of California, San Francisco). The search strategy includes terms such as 'pool*', 'harmoniz*', 'cohort*', 'observational', variations on 'individual-level data'. Four reviewers will independently screen articles using Covidence and extract data from included articles. The extracted data will be analysed descriptively in tables and graphically to reveal the pattern in methods implementation and reporting. This protocol has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020143148).ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval was required as only publicly available data were used. The results will be submitted as a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal, disseminated in conferences if relevant, and published as part of doctoral dissertations in Global Health at the Heidelberg University Hospital.
KW - Causality
KW - Delivery of Health Care
KW - Humans
KW - Research Design
KW - Review Literature as Topic
KW - San Francisco
U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052969
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052969
M3 - SCORING: Review article
C2 - 34772754
VL - 11
JO - BMJ OPEN
JF - BMJ OPEN
SN - 2044-6055
IS - 11
M1 - e052969
ER -