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A brief introduction of meta‐analyses in clinical practice and research
Author(s) -
Wang XiaoMeng,
Zhang XiRu,
Li ZhiHao,
Zhong WenFang,
Yang Pei,
Mao Chen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the journal of gene medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.689
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1521-2254
pISSN - 1099-498X
DOI - 10.1002/jgm.3312
Subject(s) - best practice , best evidence , health care , clinical practice , meta analysis , systematic review , evidence based practice , management science , evidence based medicine , engineering ethics , medline , psychology , data science , computer science , medicine , alternative medicine , medical education , nursing , political science , engineering , law , pathology
With the explosive growth of medical information, it is almost impossible for healthcare providers to review and evaluate all relevant evidence to make the best clinical decisions. Meta‐analyses, which summarize all existing evidence and quantitatively synthesize individual studies, have become the best available evidence for informing clinical practice. This article introduces the common methods, steps, principles, strengths and limitations of meta‐analyses and aims to help healthcare providers and researchers obtain a basic understanding of meta‐analyses in clinical practice and research.