Table A6:
Risk of Bias among Observational Trials for Comparison of Single-Provider Discussions and Usual Care or No Discussion
| Author, Year | Appropriate Eligibility Criteria | Appropriate Measurement of Exposure | Appropriate Measurement of Outcome | Adequate Control for Confounding | Complete Follow-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observational with Contemporaneous Controls | |||||
| Evangelista et al, 2012 (54) | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations |
| Jacobsen et al, 2011 (55) | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations | Limitationsa | No limitations |
| Engelhardt et al, 2009 (56) | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations | Limitationsb | No limitations |
| Mack et al, 2012 (58) | No limitations | Limitationsc | No limitations | Unclear | No limitations |
| Mack et al, 2010 (59) | No limitations | Limitationsc | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations |
| Wright et al, 2008 (60) | No limitations | Limitationsc | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations |
| Morrison et al, 2005 (62) | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations | Limitationsd | No limitations |
| Zhang et al, 2009 (53) | No limitations | Limitationse | No limitations | Limitationsd | No limitations |
| Briggs et al, 2004 (63) | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations | Limitationsf | No limitations |
| Observational with Historical Controls | |||||
| Lindner et al, 2007 (66) | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations |
| Cross-Sectional | |||||
| Leung et al, 2012 (67) | No limitations | Limitationse | Limitationsg | No limitations | No limitations |
| Mori et al, 2013 (68) | No limitations | Limitationse | No limitations | No limitations | No limitations |
| Heyland et al, 2009 (11) | No limitations | Limitationse | Limitationsg | Limitationsf | No limitations |
Considered only differences in age and sex; other demographic factors and potential prognostic factors not accounted for.
Participants in the 2 arms differed on the basis of age and sex, and surrogates in the 2 arms differed on the basis of sex; diagnosis was the only prognostic factor assessed.
Exposure was assessed on basis of patient's medical record, not through observation of the intervention being administered.
Participants in the 2 arms differed on a few prognostic factors, but not on demographic factors.
Exposure was assessed on basis of patient's response to a single question about discussing wishes with the physician.
Participants in the 2 arms differed on prognostic factors and demographic factors.
Used Likert score instead of a validated scale.