Abstract
Systematic reviews (SRs) are cornerstones of evidence-based medicine and have contributed significantly to breakthroughs since the 1980's. However, preclinical SRs remain relatively rare despite their many advantages. Since 2011 the Dutch health funding organisation (ZonMw) has run a grant scheme dedicated to promoting the training, coaching and conduct of preclinical SRs. Our study focuses on this funding scheme to investigate the relevance, effects and benefits of conducting preclinical SRs on researchers and their research. We recruited researchers who attended funded preclinical SR workshops and who conducted, are still conducting, or prematurely stopped a SR with funded coaching. We gathered data using online questionnaires followed by semi-structured interviews. Both aimed to explore the impact of conducting a SR on researchers' subsequent work, attitudes, and views about their research field. Data-analysis was performed using Excel and ATLAS.ti. Conducting preclinical SRs had two distinct types of impact. First, the researchers acquired new skills and insights, leading to a change in mindset regarding the quality of animal research. This was mainly seen in the way participants planned, conducted and reported their subsequent animal studies, which were more transparent and of a higher quality than their previous work. Second, participants were eager to share their newly acquired knowledge within their laboratories and to advocate for change within their research teams and fields of interest. In particular, they emphasised the need for preclinical SRs and improved experimental design within preclinical research, promoting these through education and published opinion papers. Being trained and coached in the conduct of preclinical SRs appears to be a contributing factor to many beneficial changes which will impact the quality of preclinical research in the long-term. Our findings suggest that this ZonMw funding scheme is helpful in improving the quality and transparency of preclinical research. Similar funding schemes should be encouraged, preferably by a broader group of funders or financers, in the future.
Highlights
Keeping up to date with health/medical the literature can be challenging due to the vast number of new articles published every year
Our study focuses on this funding scheme to investigate the relevance, effects and benefits of conducting preclinical systematic reviews (SRs) on researchers and their research
Participants were eager to share their newly acquired knowledge within their laboratories and to advocate for change within their research teams and fields of interest. They emphasised the need for preclinical SRs and improved experimental design within preclinical research, promoting these through education and published opinion papers
Summary
Keeping up to date with health/medical the literature can be challenging due to the vast number of new articles published every year. They are cornerstones of evidence-based medicine, with 30,000 SRs protocols being registered as of 2017 and a 2014 estimate putting the number of published SRs at over one million [6,7] Despite their advantages, SRs are struggling to achieve similar status in the preclinical field (i.e., fundamental and applied animal studies, in vitro and ex vivo studies before clinical research) [8]. Preclinical SRs have been shown to increase transparency, avoid unnecessary duplication and help identify and improve poor reporting and poor study design [8,10,11] They can be used retrospectively to cast light on clinical trial data or prospectively to prepare for new clinical and preclinical studies, and they may be used to guide future (translational) research [8,10,11]. Our study focuses on this funding scheme to investigate the relevance, effects and benefits of conducting preclinical SRs on researchers and their research
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