Assessing how information is packaged in rapid reviews for policy-makers and other stakeholders: a cross-sectional study

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(2020) 18:112

RESEARCH

Open Access

Assessing how information is packaged in rapid reviews for policy-makers and other stakeholders: a cross-sectional study Chantelle Garritty1,2* , Candyce Hamel1,2, Mona Hersi1, Claire Butler1, Zarah Monfaredi1, Adrienne Stevens1, Barbara Nussbaumer-Streit3, Wei Cheng1 and David Moher1,4

Abstract Background: Rapid reviews (RRs) are useful products to healthcare policy-makers and other stakeholders, who require timely evidence. Therefore, it is important to assess how well RRs convey useful information in a format that is easy to understand so that decision-makers can make best use of evidence to inform policy and practice. Methods: We assessed a diverse sample of 103 RRs against the BRIDGE criteria, originally developed for communicating clearly to support healthcare policy-making. We modified the criteria to increase assessability and to align with RRs. We identified RRs from key database searches and through searching organisations known to produce RRs. We assessed each RR on 26 factors (e.g. organisation of information, lay language use). Results were descriptively analysed. Further, we explored differences between RRs published in journals and those published elsewhere. Results: Certain criteria were well covered across the RRs (e.g. all aimed to synthesise research evidence and all provided references of included studies). Further, most RRs provided detail on the problem or issue (96%; n = 99) and described methods to conduct the RR (91%; n = 94), while several addressed political or health systems contexts (61%; n = 63). Many RRs targeted policy-makers and key stakeholders as the intended audience (66%; n = 68), yet only 32% (n = 33) involved their tacit knowledge, while fewer (27%; n = 28) directly involved them reviewing the content of the RR. Only six RRs involved patient partners in the process. Only 23% (n = 24) of RRs were prepared in a format considered to make information easy to absorb (i.e. graded entry) and 25% (n = 26) provided specific key messages. Readability assessment indicated that the text of key RR sections would be hard to understand for an average reader (i.e. would require post-secondary education) and would take 42 (± 36) minutes to read. Conclusions: Overall, conformity of the RRs with the modified BRIDGE criteria was modest. By assessing RRs against these criteria, we now understand possible ways in which they could be improved to better meet the information needs of healthcare decision-makers and their potential for innovation as an information-packaging mechanism. The utility and validity of these items should be further explored. (Continued on next page)

* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Knowledge Synthesis Group, Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, General Campus, CPCR Building, 501 Smyth Rd, Box 201B, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada 2 TRIBE Graduate Program, University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Au