The challenge of external validity in policy‐relevant systematic reviews: a case study from the field of substance misuse

Ref ID 235
First Author M. Pearson
Journal ADDICTION
Year Of Publishing 2010
URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02713.x?download=true
Keywords • Policy
• External validity
• Mental health
Problem(s) • Overly stringent inclusion criteria affecting external validity
Article Type Non-systematic literature review
First Author Country United Kingdom
Aim To assess the methods utilized in the conduct of one systematic review in the field of substance misuse using participant-observation in the review process, semi-structured interviews with review team members and management and structured observation of the process of guidance development.
Level of Investigation Descriptive
Summary of Findings The systematic review methods used produced an evidence base that did not inform the development of guidance to the extent that it could have done due to: (i) an emphasis upon internal research validity to produce an evidence base with an emphasis on short-term interventions at the level of the individual; (ii) criteria for appraising the external validity of studies were not developed sufficiently; and (iii) the systematic review of evidence and development of guidance were strongly reliant upon the judgement of reviewers and committee members.
Number of systematic reviews included 1
Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed 1
Treatment impacted No
Treatment impacted description
Interpretation impacted Not Applicable
Interpretation impacted description