Evidence Synthesis Methods

Abstract

Despite the many studies that are published every day by research teams across the globe, decisions in healthcare policy, practice, and programming are often made in the absence of quality, relevant evidence. This evidence gap between research and practice highlights the need to improve translation of what is known into what is done. Evidence synthesis employs rigorous and replicable techniques to bridge this gap, to better understand the quality and quantity of relevant evidence that informs decision making. In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of evidence synthesis in health humanities and describe the necessary process steps to conduct evidence synthesis projects in a rigorous and reproducible manner. This chapter intends to provide readers with the requisite knowledge to become informed consumers of evidence synthesis products and familiar with the basic steps necessary to complete an evidence review.