Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Review Meta Analysis Clinical Trial
Chinese herbal medicine ("3 medicines and 3 formulations") for COVID-19: rapid systematic review and meta-analysis.
To evaluate the evidence behind claims that Chinese Herbal Medicine, specifically "three medicines and three formulations" (3M3F, comprising Jinhua Qinggan, Lianhua Qingwen, Xuebijing, Qingfei Paidu, Huashi Baidu, and Xuanfei Baidu), is an effective treatment for COVID-19. ⋯ These findings neither support nor refute the claim that 3M3F alters the severity of COVID-19 or alleviates symptoms. More rigorous studies are required to properly ascertain the potential role of Chinese Herbal Medicine in COVID-19.
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Meta Analysis
Do medical schools teach medical humanities? Review of curricula in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Medical humanities are becoming increasingly recognized as positively impacting medical education and medical practice. However, the extent of medical humanities teaching in medical schools is largely unknown. We reviewed medical school curricula in Canada, the UK and the US. We also explored the relationship between medical school ranking and the inclusion of medical humanities in the curricula. ⋯ The extent and content of medical humanities offerings at accredited medical schools in Canada, the UK and the US varies, and there appears to be an inverse relationship between medical school quality and medical humanities offerings. Our analysis was limited by the data provided on the Universities' websites. Given the potential for medical humanities to improve medical education and medical practice, opportunities to reduce this variation should be exploited.
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Review Meta Analysis
Health education interventions to promote health literacy in adults with selected non-communicable diseases living in low-to-middle income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Health illiteracy is an important contributor to the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs); in particular in settings where health illiteracy is part of a perpetuating system of risk factors. Interventions that promote health literacy may provide an important tool in the primary and secondary prevention of NCDs. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of health literacy interventions on health literacy in the management of patients with selected NCDs living in low-to-middle income countries (LMIC). ⋯ These results support the conclusion that there is compelling evidence, in particular, for patients with Diabetes, that health-literacy interventions are effective in promoting disease knowledge, attitude and behaviour across four chronic conditions that drive the burden of NCDs.
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Meta Analysis
Methodological assessment of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on COVID-19: A meta-epidemiological study.
COVID-19 has caused an ongoing public health crisis. Many systematic reviews and meta-analyses have been performed to synthesize evidence for better understanding this new disease. However, some concerns have been raised about rapid COVID-19 research. This meta-epidemiological study aims to methodologically assess the current systematic reviews and meta-analyses on COVID-19. ⋯ The current systematic reviews and meta-analyses on COVID-19 might suffer from low transparency, high heterogeneity, and suboptimal statistical methods. It is recommended that future systematic reviews on COVID-19 strictly follow well-developed guidelines. Sensitivity analyses may be performed to examine how the synthesized evidence might depend on different methods for appraising evidence, assessing publication bias, and implementing meta-analysis models.
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Review Meta Analysis
Interventions to increase appointment attendance in safety net health centers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Missed appointments are a persistent problem across healthcare settings, and result in negative outcomes for providers and patients. We aimed to review and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce missed appointments in safety net settings. ⋯ Strategies to improve appointment adherence in safety net hospitals varied widely and were only modestly effective. Further research harmonizing intervention delivery within each strategy and comparing strategies with the most potential for success is needed.