Systematic reviews need to consider applicability to disadvantaged populations: inter-rater agreement for a health equity plausibility algorithm

Ref ID 421
First Author V. Welch
Journal BMC MEDICAL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Year Of Publishing 2012
URL https://bmcmedresmethodol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2288-12-187
Keywords Cochrane
External validity
Equity
Influence
General medical
Problem(s) Overly stringent inclusion criteria affecting external validity
Failure to consider equity, different socioeconomic groups or disadvantaged populations
Number of systematic reviews included 10
Summary of Findings Systematic reviews were rated as having important differences in relative effects across sex and socioeconomic status for a range of individual and population-level interventions. However, there was very low inter-rater agreement for these assessments. There is an unmet need for discussion of plausibility of differential effects in systematic reviews. Low kappa agreement between raters suggests a need for a depth of content expertise and stakeholders on systematic review author teams in making such decisions.
Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? Not Applicable
Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? Yes