Translational Effectiveness Analysis

Abstract

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has defined translational effectiveness as the process by which the best available evidence is obtained and utilized in specific clinical settings. This process consists of both a practical component and an analytical component. This chapter discusses salient issues that pertain to translational effectiveness analysis. First, it examines the paradigm of acceptable sampling analysis and documents the process by which we can accept or reject certain reports, based on the extent to which they have satisfied or failed to satisfy fundamental criteria of research quality. Because a process of accepting studies that is solely based on a statistical analysis may not be sufficient to establish the clinically relevant best evidence, this chapter examines the process by which optimal clinical relevance may be obtained. Furthermore and considering the fact that multiple systematic review may, in parallel, be processing the evidence for the same PICOTS question, the question has arisen how do we best process multiple systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The chapter examines this question, and from the perspectives of the diverse possible inferences one can draw, both from a frequentist (i.e., Fisher) and Bayesian perspective.