Increasing evidence suggests that socioeconomic factors may be associated with an increased risk of dental caries. To provide better evidence of the association between dental caries in adults and socioeconomic indicators, we evaluated the relation between these two conditions in a thorough review of the literature. Seven databases were systematically searched: Pubmed, Cochrane, Web of Science,...

BACKGROUND Poor recruitment to randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is a widespread and important problem. With poor recruitment being such an important issue with respect to the conduct of randomised trials, a systematic review of controlled trials on recruitment methods was undertaken in order to identify strategies that are effective. METHODS We searched the register of trials in Cochrane l...

OBJECTIVE The prognosis of depression greatly varies among patients, and the physical symptoms that often accompany depression may predict treatment resistance and a worse outcome. If so, this may have important clinical implications. The aim of this systematic review was to explore the association of concomitant physical symptoms with the outcome of major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS S...

OBJECTIVE to investigate the effects of supported discharge after an acute admission in older people with undifferentiated clinical problems. DESIGN a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. METHODS we searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, PsycLit and the Social Science Citation Index up to the end of 1997. This was augmented by hand-searching, follow-up of bibliographi...

OBJECTIVE This study's objective was to analyze the effectiveness of educational and support programs for caregivers on reducing their burden. METHOD The method used was a systematic review. The following were searched; MEDLINE, LILACS, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, SciELO and CINAHL. RESULTS Seven randomized clinical studies were included. These studies compared an educational program ...

BACKGROUND GPs report various barriers to the use and practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM). A review of research on these barriers may help solve problems regarding the uptake of evidence in clinical outpatient practice. AIM To determine the barriers encountered by GPs in the practice of EBM and to come up with solutions to the barriers identified. DESIGN A systematic review of the lit...

OBJECTIVE Since its birth about 30 years ago, Narrative Medicine approach has increased in popularity in the medical context as well as in other disciplines. This paper aims to review Narrative Medicine research studies on patients' and their caregivers' illness experience. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS MEDLINE, Psycinfo, EBSCO Psychological and Behavioural Science, The Cochrane Library and CINAHL...

BACKGROUND Scientific knowledge is in constant change. The flow of new information requires a frequent re-evaluation of the available research results. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are not exempted from this phenomenon and need to be kept updated to maintain the validity of their recommendations. The objective of our review is to systematically identify, describe and assess strategies fo...

PURPOSE Understanding the effectiveness of complex, face-to-face health behaviour change interventions requires high-quality measures to assess fidelity of delivery and engagement. This systematic review aimed to (1) identify the types of measures used to monitor fidelity of delivery of, and engagement with, complex, face-to-face health behaviour change interventions and (2) describe the report...