Table 3A.
Quantitative study quality
| Quantitative studies | Ford, 201518 | Ford, 201319 | Iyer, 201125 | Adekeye 201215 | Barnett, 201116 | Ford, 201523 | Mensforth 201420 | Wigfall, 201022 | Wigfall, 201111 | Zingmond, 200127 | Akers 200712 | Akers 200813 | Mack, 199928 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did the study address a clearly focused issue? | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Was the cohort recruited in an acceptable way to minimise selection bias? | NA | Y | Can’t tell | NA | N | Y | NA | NA | NA | NA | Y | Y | NA |
| Was the exposure and outcome accurately measured to minimise bias? | Y | Y | Can’t tell | Can’t tell | N | Y | Can’t tell | Y | Y | Y | Y | Can’t tell | Y |
| Have the authors identified all important confounding factors? | Y | Can’t tell | Can’t tell | Y | N | Can’t tell | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Have the authors taken confounding factors into account in the design and/or analysis? | Y | N | Can’t tell | Can’t tell | N | N | Can’t tell | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Was the follow up of subjects complete and long enough? (Not relevant for all studies) | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Were the results precise? | Y | Y | Can’t tell | Y | Can’t tell | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Can’t tell |
| Do you believe the results? | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Can the results be applied to the local population? | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Do the results of this study fit with other available evidence? | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Total score /10 | 8/10 | 6/10 | 4/10 | 6/10 | 3/10 | 7/10 | 2/10 | 8/10 | 8/10 | 8/10 | 9/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 |