Enhancing Uptake of Systematic Reviews (SRU)

Systematic reviews identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical (including qualitative and quantitative) evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a given research question.

Despite the emphasis on evidence-based decision making, systematic reviews are infrequently used by health care managers and policy makers.

The SRU project is targeted to meet this challenge. Using a multi-step approach we collaborated with health care managers and policy makers from across three provinces in Canada to develop a novel format for the presentation of systematic reviews to meet their needs. Keys steps of format development included:

• Phase 1: A scoping review on barriers and facilitators to use of systematic reviews by health care managers and policy makers
• Phase 2: Identify key barriers and facilitators to using systematic reviews by the decision makers through completion of a survey
• Phase 3: Develop an innovative systematic review format for health care managers and policy makers and conduct usability testing
• Phase 4: Conduct a randomized trial to assess the impact of a traditional systematic review format compared with the innovative format on the ability of health care managers and policy makers to understand the evidence in the review and apply it to a relevant health care decision making scenario

The results of the project will help increase the uptake of systematic review results in health care management policy decision-making, ultimately leading to informed decision making and positively impacting the health of Canadians.