Distance practical course on systematic reviews to support decisions of Brazilian regulatory agency for supplementary healthcare system

• Published in: BMJ evidence-based medicine Vol. 26; no. 5; pp. 261 - 262
• Main Authors: Pacheco, Rafael Leite, Bagattini, Angela Maria, Pachito, Daniela Vianna, Martimbianco, Ana Luiza Cabrera, Rodrigues, Fernanda d Athayde, Moreira, Roberta de Fátima Carreira, Riera, Rachel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01.10.2021; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Audiences; COVID-19; Distance learning; economics; Educational technology; Electroconvulsive therapy; Evidence-based medicine; health care economics and organizations; Health care policy; Letter; Medical education; Regulatory agencies; Systematic review; Teaching methods; Tutoring; Brazil; COVID-19; economics; health care economics and organizations
• ISSN: 2515-446X; 2515-4478
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjebm-2020-111617

All course content was developed by NATS-HSL based on Cochrane Handbook.2 EBM core tools and key concepts were adopted for planning, developing and reporting the systematic reviews, including the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist3 and the Portuguese version of the CEBM Catalogue of Bias4 (table 1).Table 1 Characteristics and details of the systematic review course for Brazilian regulatory agency of supplementary healthcare system Item Description Title Practical course of systematic review and meta-analysis Objectives To acquire knowledge about the methods of systematic reviews and develop ability for conducting a systematic review. Modality Distance learning Duration, total hours Total course duration=96 hours Theoretical activities=35 hours Tutoring sections=24 hours Activities for developing a systematic review=33 hours Oral presentation of systematic review developed=4 hours Duration, weeks 11 Learning management platform CANVAS (https://www.instructure.com/canvas/pt-br) for uploading support materials and organisational aspects (work groups division, register of audience frequency) Zoom platform (https://zoom.us/) for classrooms and tutoring sessions WhatsApp for rapid communication among tutors and their work groups GoogleForms for pretest and post-test assessments and satisfaction questionary assessment Audience 24 participants (divided into 3-person or 4-person work groups) Content Introduction of systematic review Defining the research question (PICO acronym) Eligibility criteria Searching for studies (search strategies, data sources) Selecting studies and extracting data (online platforms) Data synthesis (qualitative and meta-analysis) Additional analyses (subgroup, sensitivity) Risk of bias assessment (Cochrane tool) Rating the certainty of the evidence (GRADE approach, GRADEpro GDT) Oral presentation of the final systematic review Teaching and learning methods Hands-on course, using active methodologies. Two hours/week for theoretical classrooms (all audience) Two hours/week for tutoring section (one tutor for work group) Five hours for hands-one activities for developing a protocol and a systematic review A dedication of at least 8 hours per week is expected from each participant in order to achieve the course objectives Sources and materials of support  Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions was recommended as main source of support.2 Learning evaluation Participants were evaluated by The attendance in the theoretical activities and tutoring sections.