Figure 4(a).

Quality assessment of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies.

Questions:

Q1. Is the assignment to treatment groups truly random?

Q2. Are participants blinded to treatment allocation?

Q3. Is allocation to treatment groups concealed from the allocator?

Q4. Are the outcomes of people who withdrew described and included in the analysis?

Q5. Are those assessing the outcomes blind to the treatment allocation?

Q6. Are the control and treatment groups comparable at entry?

Q7. Are groups treated identically other than for the named intervention?

Q8. Are outcomes measured in the same way for all groups?

Q9. Are outcomes measured in a reliable way?

Q10. Is appropriate statistical analysis used?