Abstract
In response to urgent needs for updated evidence for decision-making on various aspects related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health established a rapid review team. Using simplified processes and shortcuts, this team produces summary reviews on request within 1–3 days that inform advice provided by the institute. All reviews are published with explicit messages about the risk of overlooking key evidence or making misguided judgements by using such rapid processes.
Highlights
While keeping up with scientific developments is challenging under normal circumstances, the combination of uncertainties in dealing with a novel virus and a huge outpour of research papers dealing with COVID-19, many of them not peer-reviewed, made it challenging to provide evidence-informed guidance, either to the public, health services or policymakers
After we established the team on 20 March 2020, it immediately started working on the following topics: the risk of airborne transmission, the role of children in the spread of disease, the relationship between age, comorbidity and disease severity, immunity to COVID19, and transmission via surfaces
We only identified three studies with the multivariate analyses needed to distinguish between the effect of age and of comorbidities
Summary
Rapid reviews for rapid decision-making during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Norway, 2020. In response to urgent needs for updated evidence for decision-making on various aspects related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health established a rapid review team. NIPH experts soon faced difficulties when trying to fulfil their mission to provide evidence-informed guidance to the public, health services and policymakers, as updated reviews of research findings on COVID-19 related topics were not readily available, e.g. on the transmissibility of the virus or identifying groups at particular risk of severe disease. While keeping up with scientific developments is challenging under normal circumstances, the combination of uncertainties in dealing with a novel virus and a huge outpour of research papers dealing with COVID-19, many of them not peer-reviewed, made it challenging to provide evidence-informed guidance, either to the public, health services or policymakers
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