First author surname
Year published
Study design used
Was the study described as randomized, a randomized trial, a randomized clinical
Was the method of randomization adequate (i.e., use of randomly generated assign
Was the treatment allocation concealed (so that assignments could not be predict
Were study participants and providers blinded to treatment group assignment?
Were the people assessing the outcomes blinded to the participants group assignm
Were the groups similar at baseline on important characteristics that could affe
Was the overall drop-out rate from the study at endpoint 20% or lower of the num
Was the differential drop-out rate (between treatment groups) at endpoint 15 per
Was there high adherence to the intervention protocols for each treatment group?
Were other interventions avoided or similar in the groups (e.g., similar backgro
Were outcomes assessed using valid and reliable measures, implemented consistent
Did the authors report that the sample size was sufficiently large to be able to
Were outcomes reported or subgroups analyzed pre-specified (i.e., identified bef
Were all randomized participants analyzed in the group to which they were origin
Was the research question or objective stated clearly?
Was the study population clearly specified and defined?
Was the participation rate of eligible persons at least 50%
Were all the subjects selected or recruited from the same or similar populations
Were all the subjects selected or recruited from the same / similar time periods
Were inclusion criteria pre-specified and applied uniformly?
Were exclusion criteria pre-specified and applied uniformly ?
Was a sample size justification, power description, or variance and effect estim
For the analyses in this paper, were the exposure(s) of interest measured prior
Was the timeframe sufficient so that one could reasonably expect to see an assoc
For exposures that can vary in amount or level, did the study examine different
Were the exposure measures (independent variables) defined clearly, valid, relia
Was the exposure(s) assessed more than once over time?
Were the outcome measures (dependent variables) defined clearly, valid, reliable
Were the outcome assessors blinded to the exposure status?
Was loss to follow-up after baseline 20% or less?
Were key potential confounding variables measured and  adjusted statistically fo
Was the research question or objective in this paper clearly stated and appropri
Did the authors include a sample size justification?
Were controls selected or recruited from the same or similar population that gav
Were the definitions, inclusion and exclusion criteria, algorithms or processes
Were the cases clearly defined and differentiated  from controls
If less than 100 percent of eligible cases and/or controls were selected for the
Was there use of concurrent controls?
Were the investigators able to confirm that the exposure/risk occurred prior to
Were the measures of exposure/risk clearly defined, valid, reliable, and impleme
Were outcome measures consistent with the WHO recommendations for detecting resp
Were the assessors of exposure/risk blinded to the case or control status of par
Were key potential confounding variables measured and adjusted statistically in
Was the study question or objective clearly stated?
Were eligibility/selection criteria for the study population pre-specified and c
Were the participants in the study representative of those who would be eligible
Were all eligible participants that met the pre-specified entry criteria enrolle
Was the sample size sufficiently large to provide confidence in the findings?lys
Was the test/service/intervention clearly described and delivered consistently a
Were the outcome measures pre-specified, clearly defined, valid, reliable, and a
Were the people assessing the outcomes blinded to the participants exposures/int
Was the loss to follow-up after baseline 20% or less? Were those lost to follow-
Did the statistical methods examine changes in outcome measures from before to a
Were outcome measures of interest taken multiple times before the intervention a
If the intervention was conducted at a group level (e.g., a whole hospital, a co
Quality rating
2003/2013 WHO methods