Evaluating the evidence for an intervention Flashcards
What are the 5 As?
Asking - question Accessing - search Appraising - critical evaluation Applying - extracting Assessing (re) - evaluate process
Essential components to a background question (2)
- Question root and a verb, e.g. who
2. Disorder, test, Rx etc
Essential components to a foreground question (2)
PICO
What is the best type of randomisation?
Off-site, computerised system
What does the standard deviation measure?
Measure of the distribution of values within a sample.
To correct for not having the full population for SD?
Sample - 1
What does the standard error measure?
Amount of variability in the sample mean.
It defines the limits of the distribution of sample means.
95% Confidence Interval = in SE?
~2SE
Hypothesis tests (aim, issues)
HTs determine if relationships are real or related to chance.
Problems
- no clinical importance shown
- may get type 2 errors
- p value is not a direct indicator of effect size
- size of the true effect is unknown
What is WMD?
Weighted mean difference
- different outcomes weighted based on sample sizes and differing precision.
Why use CIs? (3)
- Accuracy of sample statistic
- Helpful with clinical importance
- Function as a hypothesis test
How does sample size affect precision?
Higher precision with greater sample size.
Magnitude of treatment effect?
Difference between values
Precision of estimated treatment effect?
CIs
What are the three common measures of risk?
Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR)
Relative Risk Reduction (RRR)
Number Needed to Treat (NNT)