2024
Session details: The past year has seen an explosion of interest in 'generative large language models' (LLMs) and their possible use in all areas of work and research. Already, over 12,000 papers have been published with 'ChatGPT' in the title or abstract. The use of LLMs in systematic reviews is frequently discussed, and it seems that we are on the verge of a revolution in automation. However, the quality of evaluations is often low, and there are many questions about bias, generalisability, reliability and transparency still to be addressed. Understanding a little about how LLMs work will enable us to critique some of the claims made about their applicability, so this seminar will start with a gentle introduction to the technology. It will then explore some of the ways that LLMs might be useful and how we can assess for ourselves some of the (at times, outlandish) claims being made about their utility.
Speaker: Prof. James Thomas is based at the EPPI Centre and his research is centred on improving policy and decision-making through more creative use and appreciation of existing knowledge. It covers substantive disciplinary fields – such as health promotion, public health and education – and also the development of tools and methods that support this work conducted both within UCL and in the wider community. He has written extensively on research synthesis, including meta-analysis and methods for combining qualitative and quantitative research in ‘mixed method’ reviews; and also designed EPPI-Reviewer, software which manages data through all stages of a systematic review.
The recording of this seminar is available here.
2023
Re-orientating systematic reviews to rigorously examine what works, for whom and how: example of a realist systematic review of school-based prevention of dating and gender violence
- Date and time: Wednesday November 15th, 2023, 12:30 - 13:45 (GMT)
- Location: Manson Lecture Theatre, LSHTM, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT
- Speaker: Professor Chris Bonnel, LSHTM
Session details: Conventional systematic reviews offer few insights into for whom and how interventions work. 'Realist reviews' examine such questions via examining 'context-mechanism-outcome configurations' (CMOCs) but are insufficiently rigorous in how evidence is identified, assessed and synthesised. We developed ‘realist systematic reviews’, addressing similar questions to realist reviews but using rigorous methods. We applied this to synthesising evidence on school-based prevention of dating and relationship violence (DRV) and gender-based violence (GBV). This paper reflects on overall methods and findings, drawing on papers reporting each analysis. Drawing on intervention descriptions, theories of change and process evaluations, we developed initial CMOC hypotheses: interventions triggering ‘school-transformation’ mechanisms (preventing violence by changing school environments) will achieve larger effects than those triggering ‘basic-safety’ (stopping violence by emphasising its unacceptability) or ‘positive-development’ (developing students’ broader skills and relationships) mechanisms; however, school transformation would only work in schools with high organisational capacity. We used various innovative analyses, some of which aimed to test these hypotheses and some of which were inductive, drawing on available findings to augment and refine the CMOCs. Overall, interventions were effective in reducing long-term DRV but not GBV or short-term DRV. DRV prevention occurred most effectively via the ‘basic-safety’ mechanism. ‘School-transformation’ mechanisms were more effective in preventing GBV but only in high-income countries. Impacts on long-term DRV victimisation were greater when working with a critical mass of participating girls. Impacts on long-term DRV perpetration were greater for boys. Interventions were more effective when focusing on skills, attitudes and relationships, or lacking parental involvement or victim stories. Our method provided novel insights and should be useful to policy-makers seeking the best interventions for their contexts and the most information to inform implementation.
Speaker: Chris Bonell is Professor of Public Health & Sociology in PHES/PHP. His main areas of interest are evaluation and evidence synthesis, adolescent health, and sexual health. He has previously worked at UCL, Oxford University and the Social Exclusion Unit. With colleagues he has developed various methods for building on realist methods in evaluation and evidence synthesis while still employing randomised trial and systematic review designs.
The recording of this seminar is available here.
Areas of Research Interest: an opportunity for synthesis to shine?
- Date and time: Wednesday September 20th, 2023, 12:30
- Location: LSHTM, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT
- Speaker: Professor Kathryn Oliver, LSHTM
Session details: Since 2017, government departments in the UK have been asked to publish lists of their evidence needs, called “Areas of Research Interest”. Over 1500 have now been published and are publicly available, but mostly little was done with them. In 2019, I was seconded to the civil service to work out what could usefully be done with these ARIs. Working closely with science advisors, public research funders, intermediaries, and universities, we ran knowledge mobilisation exercises and tested different approaches to improve how evidence could inform policy. In this presentation, I will discuss our experiences, lessons learned, and next steps for research. In particular, the role for synthesis, and how this might look different for different departments and problems – and how we might tackle the evidence gaps together.
Speaker: Kathryn Oliver is Professor of Evidence and Policy. Since 2019 she has been seconded to the Government Office for Science to support evidence use across government through the Areas of Research Interest. She is co-Director of Transforming Evidence with Annette Boaz, an initiative which aims to share lessons about evidence production and use, to run research into these topics, and to create opportunities to connect the diverse research, funding, practitioner and policy communities with a shared interest in this area.
A recording of the seminar can be found here.
Assessing bias in evaluations of lobby and advocacy: a new assessment tool for 'small n' impact evaluation with an application to sexual and reproductive health and rights
- Date and time: Wednesday July 5th, 2023, 12:30
- Location: Manson Lecture Theatre, LSHTM, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT
- Speaker: Dr Hugh Sharma Waddington, LSHTM
There has been a shift in global health and international development assistance towards programmes that aim to tackle the root causes of ill-health and poverty by improving the circumstances in which policy decisions are taken, including through more effective civil society lobby and advocacy (L&A). L&A programmes often aim to support complex partnerships among many actors in order to change policies or practices in a single institution like a Ministry of Health. Traditional 'large n' impact evaluation methods may therefore be neither feasible, nor meaningful if the appropriate hypothesis is one of contribution rather than attribution. There is a felt need among researchers, governments and NGOs for guidance on evaluation design, conduct and reporting for methods that can credibly evaluate causal claims in such circumstances.
Dr Hugh Sharma Waddington and colleagues developed an assessment tool to evaluate the causal claims made in 'small n' impact evaluations using methods like contribution analysis, process tracing and outcome harvesting. The approach evaluates sources of bias with reference to study design, conduct and reporting. The tool was piloted in a synthesis of 32 programme evaluations of L&A programmes. Dr Hugh Sharma Waddington will present the assessment tool and discuss the findings with reference to the effectiveness of support for sexual and reproductive health and rights programming.
Bio: Hugh is an Assistant Professor at LSHTM. He is an economist by training with advanced degrees in development economics and environmental health impact evaluation. Hugh specialises in policy research on topics like water, sanitation and hygiene, governance and agriculture using methods like impact evaluation, systematic review and meta-analysis. He set up the Systematic Reviews Programme and London Office of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), based at London International Development Centre and was elected Co-Chair of the Campbell Collaboration International Development Coordinating Group (2014-19), and he continues as an editor with Campbell Systematic Reviews.
A recording of the event can be found here.
Systematic Reviews and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Methodological Implications
- Date and time: Wednesday May 24th, 2023, 12:30 - 13:45 (BST / GMT+1)
- Location: Room C3.09, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL
- Speaker: Professor Mark Petticrew, LSHTM
The field of the Commercial Determinants of Health (CDOH) is growing rapidly, as evidenced by a new WHO programme on CDOH and increased researcher and funder interest. Evidence synthesis will be a crucial tool in the evolution of CDOH. While CDOH reviews can draw on existing methodological guidance, there are areas where the methods will differ, and there is no overarching guidance on the conduct of CDOH-focussed systematic reviews, nor on the specific methodological and conceptual challenges.
When we consider the development of evidence-informed practice we often focus on individual actors – e.g. practitioners, policy makers – rather than the system as a whole. In this seminar we take a wider perspective to consider the overall systems in which evidence is produced, mobilised and used.
This presentation highlights the special methodological and other considerations for CDOH reviews, including equity considerations, and provides pointers to areas for future methodological and guideline development.
Creating a jazz band - developing a systems-based approach for effective research use
- Date and time: Wednesday 29th March 2023 12:30 - 13:45 (BST / GMT+1)
- Speaker: jonathan.sharples@eefoundation.org.uk
- Location: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH
When we consider the development of evidence-informed practice we often focus on individual actors – e.g. practitioners, policy makers – rather than the system as a whole. In this seminar we will take a wider perspective to consider the overall systems in which evidence is produced, mobilised and used. Research use emerges as a myriad of interconnected ‘moving parts’ that need to function optimally and be aligned. Weakness in any area of the system, or interactions between different actors and activities across the system, can potentially impede research use. It is as strong as its weakest link. We will explore the implications for different sectors and how to build vibrant and lasting research use systems.
Further details & recording: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/creating-jazz-band-developing-systems-based-approach-effective-research-use
PPI in systematic reviews: challenges and possible solutions?
- Date and time: Wednesday 25 January 2023 12:30 - 13:45
- Location: Room LG9, LSHTM, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT
- Speakers: Gilian Stokes & Katy Sutcliffe
In this seminar, we will reflect on our experiences of conducting PPI (Patient and public involvement) in systematic reviews, and discuss some of the challenges and issues that we are currently grappling with when aiming to ensure that PPI is inclusive and beneficial to all. We invite the audience to discuss their experiences of PPI in reviews with us, and to consider priorities for development, such as reporting standards, training, and evaluation.
What are the best ways to communicate systematic reviews?
- Date and time: Wednesday 23 November 2022 12:30 - 13:45
- Location: Room LG6, LSHTM, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT
- Speaker: Jonathan Breckon, Senior Visiting Lecturer, EPPI Centre; POST Fellow, UK Parliament
The recording of the November 2022 seminar on ‘Communicating and using systematic reviews - learning from other disciplines’ by Jonathan Breckon is now available at https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/communicating-and-using-systematic-reviews-learning-other-disciplines.
2022
What are the best ways to communicate systematic reviews?
- Date and time: Wednesday 23 November 2022 12:30 - 13:45
- Location: Room LG6, LSHTM, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT
- Speaker: Jonathan Breckon, Senior Visiting Lecturer, EPPI Centre; POST Fellow, UK Parliament
The recording of the November 2022 seminar on ‘Communicating and using systematic reviews - learning from other disciplines’ by Jonathan Breckon is now available at https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/communicating-and-using-systematic-reviews-learning-other-disciplines.
2018
Women in wage labour: a systematic review of effectiveness and design features of interventions
Date: 19th December 2018
Location: Gordon square 16-18 room 101: 14:00-15:00
Speaker: Dr Laurenz Langer
Bayesian meta-analysis using quantitized qualitative data as prior info.
Date: 18 December 2018 (tbc)
Location: tbc
Speaker: Dr Leonie van Grootel. Tilburg University
Co-creating a co-creation course to co-create welfare
Date: 5th December 2018
Location: Seminar Room, 18 Woburn Square, UCL Institute of Education, London WC1H 0NS
Speaker: Gemma Pearce
Complex systems model of evidence: Implications for systematic review methods and concepts of research utilisation
Date: 20th November 2018
Location: 20 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL Room W2.06
Speaker: Professor Harry Rutter The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The concept of 'Leaky systems' and its implication for research & practice on evidence use
Date: 16th October 2018
Location: Seminar Room, 18 Woburn Square, UCL Institute of Education, London WC1H 0NS
Speaker: Professor Nick Tilley , Jill Dando Institute, Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London
Using multilingual learners' home languages to support academic and linguistic success at school. What does the evidence say
Date: 3rd October 2018
Location: Seminar Room, 18 Woburn Square, UCL Institute of Education, London WC1H 0NS
Speaker: Hamish Chalmers (University of Oxford/ Oxford Brookes University)
Can we use art to explore difficult topics in hard to reach groups? : Let's Talk Sugar
Date: 12th September 2018
Location: Seminar Room, 18 Woburn Square, UCL Institute of Education, London WC1H 0NS
Speaker: Amanda Moore and Annie Nicholson
Visionary Women and Visible Children, England 1900-1920
Date: 1st August 2018
Location: Seminar Room, 18 Woburn Square, UCL Institute of Education, London WC1H 0NS
Speaker: Professor Berry Mayall
Embracing the mosaic: Crafting Collaborative Arts-based Research for Critical Resilience
Date: 4th July 2018
Location: TCRU Library, 27-28 Woburn square
Speaker: Dr Helen Johnson
The challenges of translating population based evidence for local implementation
Date: 20 June 2018
Location: Room 828, 8th floor - IOE Main Building, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL
Speaker: Professor Bernie Hannigan -Director – Research, Translation & Innovation Public Health England
The politics of behaviour change and its implications for research use
Date: 22 May 2018
Location: Room 739, 7th floor - IOE main building, 20 Bedford Way
Speaker: Professor Mike Kelly - Senior Visiting Fellow University of Cambridge
What are the challenges to using research evidence in public health decision-making and how could systematic reviewers help?
Date: 17 April 2018
Location: Room 826, 8th floor - IOE main building, 20 Bedford Way
Speaker: Dylan Kneale
2017
Decisions in health Care to Introduce or Diffuse innovations using Evidence (DECIDE): survey and discrete choice experiment
Date: Tuesday 19 December
Speaker: Steve Morris, UCL
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Improving the conduct and reporting of narrative synthesis of quantitative data: Rationale and update of the ICONS-Quant project
Date: Tuesday 21 November
Speaker: Hilary Thompson, University of Glasgow
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Cochrane PICO: Using linked data technologies for evidence curation (click for slides)
Date: Wednesday 12 July
Speaker: Chris Mavergames, Cochrane Information and Knowledge Management Department
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
The power of the media - reaching wider audiences to make Cochrane evidence accessible to everyone, everywhere in the world
Date: Tuesday 20 June
Speaker: Jo Anthony, Senior Media and Communications Manager, Cochrane
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Qualitative evidence synthesis: Where are we and where are we going? (click title for slides)
Date: Tuesday 23 May
Speaker: Ruth Garside, University of Exeter Medical School
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
'What sort of review should I do?' Findings from the MACH (Meta-analysis, Complexity and Heterogeneity) project
Date: Tuesday 21 February 2017
Speaker: Mark Petticrew (Professor of Public Health Evaluation) and Lambert Felix (Research Fellow), LSHTM
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
When to rely on informal competence in synthesising research
Date: Tuesday 31 January 2017
Speaker: Ingemar Bohlin, University of Gothenburg
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Approaches for synthesis of complex interventions: components-based network meta-analysis
Date: Tuesday 17 January 2017
Speaker: Deborah Caldwell, University of Bristol
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
2016
Learning Curve: What quality assuring systematic reviews can tell us about the past, present & future of evidence synthesis
Date: Tuesday 20 December
Speaker: Toby Lasserson, Cochrane Editorial Unit
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
What’s wrong with ‘What Works for Whom, Where’?
Date: Tuesday 22 November
Speaker: Nancy Cartwright, University of Durham and University of California, San Diego
Presentation: Download slides from the presentation
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Systematic reviews in clinical education: Lessons from a BEME systematic review of undergraduate medical education in the General Practice setting
Date: Wednesday 19 October
Speaker: Dr Sophie Park. Senior Lecturer in Primary Care at UCL Medical School
Part of the London BEME International Collaborating Centre (London BICC)
EPPI Centre and the What Works Global Summit 2016
Date: 24-28 September 2016
Click here for video podcasts of our public lectures at the WWGS by Dr David Halpern and Sir Kevan Collins plus details of our involvement in many other sessions at the Summit.
Feeling the earth move: insights on the “dual heritage” of qualitative evidence synthesis
Date: Tuesday 19 July 2016
Speaker: Andrew Booth, University of Sheffield
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Information seeking theory: how can it help us define 'proper' searching for systematic reviews?
Date: 21 June 2016
Speaker: Suzy Paisley, Director of Information Resources, ScHARR, University of Sheffield
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Meta-synthesis of quantitative research findings in education: some risks and benefits
Date: Tuesday 17 May 2016
Speaker: Steve Higgins, Durham University
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Are narrative syntheses and meta-analyses commensurate in terms of argumentation and reasoning?
Date: Tuesday 19 April 2016
Speaker: GJ Melendez-Torres, University of Warwick
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
2015
Multidisciplinary reviews
Date: Tuesday 15 December 2015
Speaker: Sandy Oliver, Professor of Public Policy, EPPI Centre
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Evidence review for policy and decision-making: Challenges and opportunities for The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
Date: Tuesday 17 November 2015
Speaker: Catherine Swann, Senior Research Associate, EPPI Centre
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Framework synthesis
Date: Tuesday 20 October 2015
Speaker: Ginny Brunton, Senior Research Officer, EPPI Centre
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Can we rely on text mining to reduce screening workload in systematic reviews?
Date: Tuesday 22 September 2015
Speakers: James Thomas, Professor of Social Research and Policy and Alison O’Mara-Eves, Senior Research Officer, both EPPI Centre
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Moving from research evidence to recommendations
Date: Tuesday 16 June 2015
Speaker: Steve Pilling, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Clinical Effectiveness, UCL
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Living systematic reviews
Date: Tuesday 26 May 2015
Speaker: Julian Elliott, Honorary Senior Lecturer EPPI Centre, Head of Clinical Research Unit, Department of Infectious Diseases, Monash University
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Methods of realist synthesis
Date: Tuesday 28 April 2015
Speaker: Justin Jagosh, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement in Realist Evaluation and Synthesis (CARES), University of Liverpool
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Methods in a systematic review of the socio-economic impacts of genetically modified crops in six languages
Date: Tuesday 24 March 2015
Speaker: Jaqueline Garcia-Yi, Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
The MACH (Meta-analysis, Complexity & Heterogeneity) study (when to use a meta-analytical approach – or not?)
Date: Tuesday 17 March 2015
Speakers: Mark Petticrew, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and James Thomas, EPPI Centre and their colleagues
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Variations in methods for undertaking systematic reviews: examples from three EPPI Centre reviews (international development, weight management and social care)
Date: Tuesday 24 February 2015
Speakers: Jan Tripney, Katy Sutcliffe and Kristin Liabo, EPPI Centre
Part of the London systematic reviews and research use seminar series
Other seminars
Methods for deciding which dimensions of inequalities to address in systematic reviews (2014)
Date: 13 March 2014
Synthesising evidence about population health is insufficient if it does not take into account unjust circumstances that influence health status and responses to health interventions. EPPI Centre systematic reviews pay increasing attention to health inequalities and this was operationalised originally using the mnemonic PROGRESS for Place of residence, Race/ethnicity, Occupation, Gender, Religion, Education, Socio-economic status and Social capital. This was immediately found to be inadequate as it failed to focus attention on other relevant variations in populations. A first response was to include additional variations (such as age, disability and sexual orientation) as they became apparent with successive reviews. A more theoretical approach would be more tightly aligned with what is known about the social determinants of health. This seminar discussed the need for a tool to help systematic reviewers decide on which dimensions of inequalities to focus attention in any particular review.
Self-care Support in Children and Young People’s Physical and Mental Health: Two examples of Integrated reviews (2014)
Date: 4 February 2014
In this seminar, we discussed two National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) projects on self-care support for children, young people and their families that we have led. The speaker discussed the project that she led which focused on self-care support in long-term physical conditions in children and young people’s health (principally asthma, diabetes and cystic fibrosis). There was then a discussion of a follow-up project that he led that focused on self-care support in children and young people’s mental health. Both projects contained a significant integrative review component with talk particularly on experiences of using an EPPI-style approach to handle these reviews. The speaker also discussed the formulation of a model of self-care support in children and young people’s health that has emerged from the two projects.
Configuring causal conditions in systematic reviews of complex interventions: Can Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) help? (2013)
Date: 10 December 2013
Developed on an on-going basis by Charles Ragin and colleagues since the late 1980s, QCA was originally designed to facilitate analyses in political science and historical sociology. The types of analyses which it was developed to conduct typically involved the comparison of nation states with one another; this is a classic ‘small-N-many variables’ scenario, where the number of examples of a phenomenon is small (e.g. OECD countries) and the number of variables which might explain a given outcome might be large (e.g. the factors which give rise to the creation of generous welfare states)*. A parallel with the synthesis of evaluations of complex interventions is clear here, where we often have a limited number of studies, and a large number of possible factors which might explain differences in their findings (e.g. participants, interventions, context, outcome measurement, study design, comparator, etc…). We will present a worked example of a synthesis using QCA and hopefully generate plenty of discussion.
Finding and recording research for reviews – websites and ‘unusual’ sources (2013)
Date: 25 July 2013
Research studies for inclusion in reviews are often identified outside of electronic bibliographic databases. Thus, researching websites and other ‘unusual sources’ is an important method to identify research and involves a range of techniques. However, there are no acknowledged standards for documentation of website and other types of searches. The aim of this seminar was to promote discussion and hear from you about the challenges and solutions of website and unusual source searching and consider standards of conduct and reporting.
Adult Social Care: the trials and tribulations of defining the ‘un-definable’? (2013)
Date: 14 March 2013
A key stage in many systematic reviews is to define carefully all of the concepts under investigation in order to be able to conduct the review, transparently and systematically. The challenge for a recent systematic review of reviews to support the use and development of ‘The adult social care outcomes framework’; was how to define the scope of the work on social care; an area that lacks commonly agreed definitions. In this seminar we outlined some of the approaches we took to address the diversity and complexity of social care populations, interventions and outcomes and the implications this had for the review. The discussion also broadened to consider similar issues and solutions you have encountered in your own review and primary research projects.
Engaging youth in community change for public health through photography (2008)
A half-day seminar, comprising descriptive elements, tools and techniques, aimed at colleagues working in community development; public health or with children and young people. The objectives were:
- to provide an overview of the CATCH project (Community Approaches to Cardiovascular Health).
- to describe the photovoice community assessment process, and subsequent engagement of youth in community planning to identify strategies to promote heart healthy environments within the city.
- to share the results from the photovoice project and the findings from its youth photovoice project, and to discuss the challenges, facilitating factors and lessons learned in this process.
Transforming the work of schools to embed health promotion: building on the Gatehouse Project (2008)
Schools are not just convenient places to deliver health promotion and health education. Educational and behavioural research has consistently shown that the school environment impacts both on young people’s educational achievements and health behaviours. School environments are complex. The workshop objectives were:
- To provide an overview of the Gatehouse Project and explore ways of working with schools that not just takes account of, but actively utilises complex school environments.
- The workshop will conclude with reflections and discussion on the challenges for design and evaluation of this approach.
- Participants will be invited to critically reflect on our questions of research and practice.
Economics and evidence informed public policy and practice in health, social care, and education interventions (2007)
This three-day workshop was aimed at people with no training in economics; its objectives were:
- to introduce participants to current debates and dilemmas in public health, social care, and education interventions
- to increase understanding and awareness of basic economic concepts in relation to public health, social care and education
- to equip participants with skills in critical appraisal of economic studies
- to provide an introduction to the synthesis of economic evidence to inform public policy and practice.
Evidence-informed Health Promotion and Public Health: encouraging the use of research in practice (2006)
Participants discussed the need to be clear about what evidence informed practice is relevant to each practitioner’s environment, and how systematic reviews relate to evidence informed practice. Careful attention must be paid to the language of evidence-informed practice. This is often a new set of terms which can take practitioners time to become familiar with. Participants described a need for research that is directly relevant to people’s work. They also discussed the need for a hierarchy of evidence to help people decide how to use the evidence and how ‘strong’ a message was being given by the evidence. Research must also differentiate between evidence of need for an intervention, evidence of an intervention’s effectiveness and evidence of its appropriateness. There is also a need to be clear about how possible it is to transfer the interventions under study to individual situations, so that practitioners can evaluate the usefulness of the interventions.
Summary of the event Slides from the event