Prioritising studies and outcomes for NICE HealthTech literature reviews
Reviews of clinical effectiveness and safety for NICE can vary widely in terms of the volume and type of available evidence. Assessment groups face time constraints and must make selective decisions about which studies and outcomes to prioritise within each review.
This Technical Support Document (TSD) outlines approaches to prioritising studies within NICE HealthTech reviews, to further narrow or widen inclusion beyond the original review scope. This is particularly important when the number of studies for review in the time available is likely to be higher or lower than anticipated.
Stakeholder consultation and scoping of the literature are some of the key processes to inform how best to prioritise evidence within a specific review. This can inform refinement of the review question during protocol development, and may also occur as an iterative process during the review itself to further refine criteria. Eligibility criteria may need to be narrowed if the evidence base is large, or widened if insufficient evidence is identified. Care should be taken to minimise potential bias; for example by specifying in the protocol that further criteria refinement may occur and how this will likely be done.
Eligibility criteria may be narrowed or widened via a range of criteria including study population, intervention, comparators, outcomes, study design, publication type, setting or date. The needs of the economic evaluation may also inform study selection. It may also be helpful to consider how criteria interact (for example, prioritising randomised controlled trials in terms of study type, but also including observational data for specific outcomes or settings).
The overall aim of refining inclusion criteria beyond the original review scope is to ensure reviews focus on the evidence of highest rigour and relevance, whilst being deliverable within time constraints.
Downloads
TSD 27: Prioritising studies and outcomes for NICE HealthTech literature reviews