I am conducting a meta-review and am wondering whether reviews which only discuss one primary study that is relevant to the research question should be included. In my case I am looking for interventions for common mental health disorders and some reviews include primary intervention studies for a broad spectrum of illnesses, and for example only one on mental health. The purpose of a meta-review is not to review primary studies, but I unsure what to do here due to a lack of clear guidelines. Also, in one case the relevant study is already included in other systematic reviews that met inclusion criteria for the meta-review.
I would be glad to receive any input!
Hi Fiona,
It is clear that a systematic review which includes just one study may not be the best in providing the evidence base one may need for making a policy or practice decision. However, in the conduct of umbrella reviews or review of systematic reviews the key criteria should be the quality of the procedure (methods) used in the conduct of the systematic review not the number of studies included. As long as the review reports clear and appropriate methods for being a systematic review you need to include it (provided that it meets other inclusion criteria). Hence, I would concluded that you have to include the review with just one study as long as it passes your methodological quality assessment and meets your inclusion criteria.
Agree with the comment above- if it meets your inclusion criteria, and quality assessment, it should be included in the meta review.
I also agree with the comments above. The review actually varies. Your protocol is thus of more importance.
Article All in the Family: Systematic reviews, rapid reviews, scopin...
Your questions seems, you are conducting an umbrella review (A review of systematic reviews) . As to me, you are not required to include
reviews with only one relevant primary study in your Meta- review for two reasons. The first reason is your primary objective is different from that review ( common mental health disorders vs broad spectrum of illnesses ) which you might have excluded based on your inclusion criteria. The second reason is that the relevant study is already included in other systematic reviews that met inclusion criteria which helps you not to include again to avoid duplication of effect.
Agree with the comment of dr. Woldie. You should include every study if in your opinion it has been conducted with the appropriate methods and materials. Good Luck
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