Interpreting the Results of Systematic Reviews

Systematic reviews are increasingly common and often provide the most robust research approach to informed decisions about health care. The successful interpretation of systematic reviews for decisions about health care requires consideration of their quality and judgement on whether the participants and the interventions assessed are applicable to a different setting. This chapter includes a table of questions to help the reader consider this issue. If a review satisfies the requirements of the present setting, the benefits and harms of the interventions, along with other information including patient preferences, will help the clinician decide what the review “means” and what to do about this in practice.