Table 2.
Methodological quality of controlled trials according to the EPOC method
| Author (year) | Allocation concealment | Blinded assessment | Follow-up | Baseline measure | Reliable primary outcome | Protection against contamination | Summarya |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleland (2009) | DONE | DONE | DONE | DONE | DONE | NC | Low |
| Evans (2010) | DONE | NC | DONE | DONE | NC | DONE | Moderate |
| Bussières (2010) | DONE | DONE | ND | DONE | NC | ND | Moderate |
| van Dulmen (2014) | DONE | NC | DONE | ND | ND | DONE | Moderate |
| Murray (2015) | DONE | DONE | NC | DONE | ND | DONE | Moderate |
| Peter (2013) | NC | DONE | DONE | DONE | NC | DONE | Moderate |
| Rebbeck (2006) | DONE | NC | NC | DONE | ND | DONE | Moderate |
| Peter (2015) | NC | NC | ND | NC | NC | DONE | High |
| Stevenson (2006) | NC | NC | NC | NC | NC | DONE | High |
| Bekkering (2005) | DONE | NC | NC | DONE | DONE | DONE | High |
| Chipchase (2016) | DONE | NC | NC | DONE | NC | NC | High |
aLow risk of bias if the first 3 criteria are judged to be DONE; moderate if 1 or 2 of the first 3 criteria are judged to be NOT CLEAR (NC) or NOT DONE (ND); and high if more than 2 of the first 3 criteria are judged to be NOT CLEAR or NOT DONE