How useful are systematic reviews for informing palliative care practice? Survey of 25 Cochrane systematic reviews

Wee, Bee; Hadley, G. P.; Derry, Sheena

doi:10.1186/1472-684x-7-13

Cited by 55 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Systematic reviews are designed to minimize bias because they typically outline the search strategies and follow a rigid methodology during the evaluation process. Nevertheless, a recent study of Cochrane systematic reviews in palliative care found that they failed "to provide good evidence for clinical practice because the primary studies are few in number, small, clinically heterogeneous, and of poor quality and external validity" [9]. Thus, until we can improve both the quantity and quality of original studies, reviews and systematic reviews may have a limited role in consolidating the existing literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite significant developments in the palliative care literature, there remain many challenges to conducting and publishing palliative care research, including limited research funding [2], few trained personnel, difficulty in recruiting and retaining patients [3], and other methodologic issues [4,5]. Keeping up with the palliative care literature has also been difficult because of challenges in searching the bibliographic databases [6], a lack of definitional clarity [7], and the highly heterogeneous research topics and methodologies [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantity, Design, and Scope of the Palliative Oncology Literature

et al. 2011

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The current state of the palliative oncology literature is unclear. We examined and compared the quantity, research design, and research topics of palliative oncology publications in the first 6 months of 2004 with the first 6 months of 2009. We systematically searched MEDLINE, PsychInfo, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and CINAHL for original studies, review articles, and systematic reviews related to "palliative care" and "cancer" during the

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantity, Design, and Scope of the Palliative Oncology Literature

et al. 2011

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“…Though the availability of prospective observational and intervention studies of good quality in palliative care are limited [138,139], there is reasonable evidence for treatment of pain, dyspnea, and depression in cancer patients [140]. There is less evidence for effectiveness of treatment and care in dementia patients, meaning available guidelines specific to dementia at the end of life are mostly consensus based.…”

Section: Availability Of Guidelines For End Of Life Care In Patients mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dying with Dementia: What We Know after More than a Decade of Research

Steen

2010

JAD

224

177

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Abstract. Death with dementia is increasingly common. Although prognostication is difficult, it is an incurable life-limiting illness for which palliative care for the patient is often appropriate. Dementia patients are otherwise at risk of overtreatment with burdensome and possibly non-beneficial interventions and undertreatment of symptoms. Although recent studies indicate encouraging trends of improved palliative care, little evidence supports effectiveness of specific treatments. As of January 2010, at least 45 studies, almost all performed after 2000, have reported on treatment, comfort, symptom burden, and families' satisfaction with care. Over half (25; 56%) of these studies were in US settings, and most were small or retrospective. Few randomized trials and prospective observational studies have been performed so far, but several promising studies have been completed recently or are underway in various countries. Guidelines for care and treatment, still mostly consensus-based, support the benefits of advance care planning, continuity of care, and family and practitioner education. Assessment tools for pain, prognosis, and family evaluations of care have been developed and some have been shown to be effective in clinical practice. With increasing numbers of well-designed, large-scale studies, research in the next decade may result in better evidence-based guidelines and practice.

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“…These methodological difficulties consequently impact on the quality and 9 usefulness of reviews in palliative care 46 . Publications reporting systematic reviews of all types of original study (intervention, observational and qualitative studies).…”

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What do we know about different models of providing palliative care? Findings from a systematic review of reviews

et al. 2017

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Article:Brereton, L., Clark, J., Ingleton, C. orcid.org/0000-0001-5489-1089 et al. (4 more authors) (2017) What do we know about different models of providing palliative care? Findings from a systematic review of reviews. Palliative Medicine. ISSN 0269-2163 https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216317701890 eprints@whiterose.ac.uk https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version -refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher's website. TakedownIf you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing eprints@whiterose.ac.uk including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. Review of models of palliative care1 What is already known about the topic? 1  Globally, as demand for palliative care is increasing amongst those with life-limiting illnesses, 2 there has been a rapid growth in specialist and generalist palliative care service provision with a 3 range of different of models of palliative care service provision being developed and 4 implemented internationally. 5 The published evidence has been synthesised in a number of reviews which have attempted to 6 identify the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of different models of palliative care. 7 There is no comprehensive overview of the current evidence base to support decision-making 8 based on the advantages and disadvantages of different models of palliative care or to identify 9 any gaps in the evidence base where more primary research is needed. 10What this paper adds? 11 The outcomes measured vary considerably, making meta-analysis impossible. None-the-less, 12 the available evidence indicates that irrespective of setting or patient characteristics, models of 13 palliative care appear to show benefits for patients and their carers, with no evidence for 14 negative effects. Some models of palliative care may reduce total healthcare costs.

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How useful are systematic reviews for informing palliative care practice? Survey of 25 Cochrane systematic reviews

Cited by 55 publications

References 45 publications

Quantity, Design, and Scope of the Palliative Oncology Literature

Quantity, Design, and Scope of the Palliative Oncology Literature

Dying with Dementia: What We Know after More than a Decade of Research

What do we know about different models of providing palliative care? Findings from a systematic review of reviews

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