Journal of clinical epidemiology
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Our objective was to develop a framework to identify research gaps from systematic reviews. ⋯ Our framework determines from systematic reviews where the current evidence falls short and why or how the evidence falls short. This explicit identification of research gaps will allow systematic reviews to maximally inform the types of questions that need to be addressed and the types of studies needed to address the research gaps.
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Multicenter Study
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: development of capacity and performance scales.
There has been no attempt to obtain a continuous summary measure of disability from the checklist of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Our objective was to assess whether valid scales of Capacity and Performance could be developed from the "Activities and Participation" domain of the ICF checklist. ⋯ Our findings support the measurement model, reliability, and validity of the Capacity and Performance scales. Summary measures of functioning based on the ICF can be obtained using these scales, which should facilitate their incorporation in clinical and epidemiological studies.
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To describe a systematic approach for identifying, reporting, and synthesizing information to allow consistent and transparent consideration of the applicability of the evidence in a systematic review according to the Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, Setting domains. ⋯ Careful consideration of applicability may improve the usefulness of systematic reviews in informing practice and policy.
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The Work Instability Scale for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA-WIS) is a promising prognostic tool for future work disability outcomes. Rasch analysis was conducted to examine the psychometric performance of the RA-WIS in work-related upper limb disorders. ⋯ A new 17-item Upper Limb Work Instability Scale that satisfied assumptions for interval-level scaling was derived.