{"id":1531,"date":"2017-11-07T07:48:27","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T07:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/?p=1531"},"modified":"2017-12-06T00:50:15","modified_gmt":"2017-12-06T00:50:15","slug":"ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left\"><em>The EBM library signposts some essential reading for the practice of Evidence-Based Medicine. In this part of the library, we highlight the role of systematic reviews in humanitarian medicine.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">Kamal Mahtani<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/10\/layouttile.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-1449 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/10\/layouttile-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/10\/layouttile-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/10\/layouttile.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Systematic reviews have made <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/0141076816643954\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">significant contributions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the pool of best available evidence in healthcare. In a previous <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/10\/19\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-in-policymaking-part-1\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">post<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, I explored the importance of systematic reviews to healthcare policymakers and the challenges that come with trying to increase their uptake. To mark <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.evidenceaid.org\/events-and-training\/hew\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Humanitarian Evidence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> week, I discuss an example of how a systematic review has influenced <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msf-crash.org\/en\/publications\/medicine-and-public-health\/humanitarian-medicine\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">humanitarian medicine<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>Paper: Clasen TF et al. 2015. <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/14651858.CD004794.pub3\/abstract;jsessionid=62CAD9630085776072AB337784E30A17.f03t02\"><b><i>Interventions to improve water quality for preventing diarrhoea<\/i><\/b><\/a><i>. The Cochrane Library.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.who.int\/mediacentre\/factsheets\/fs310\/en\/index1.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">World Health Organization<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (WHO), diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death in low-income countries, with estimates of 57 deaths per 100,000 population. In contrast, mortality from diarrhoeal disease is not listed in the top 10 causes of death in high-income countries. One main factor for this disparity is the poor water sanitation found in low-income countries, which leads to higher rates of microbiological contamination. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Effective interventions to improve water sanitation, particularly at the point of use, are therefore likely to prevent a considerable number of deaths. In their <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/14651858.CD004794.pub3\/full\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cochrane review<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Thomas Classen and colleagues evaluated interventions to improve water quality for preventing diarrhoea. They classified these interventions into four categories: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Physical removal of pathogens <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(for example, filtration, adsorption, or sedimentation).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Chemical treatment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to kill or deactivate pathogens (most commonly with chlorine).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Disinfection by heat <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(for example, boiling or pasteurisation) or ultraviolet (UV) radiation (for example, solar disinfection or artificial UV lamps).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>A combination of these approaches<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (for example, filtration or flocculation combined with disinfection).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1534\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0-300x82.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0-768x211.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They identified 55 relevant studies, sampled from mostly lower-middle or low-income countries including 84,023 participants. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Six of the included studies (four cluster RCTs and two quasi RCTs) evaluated solar water disinfection (SODIS) interventions. This <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sodis.ch\/methode\/index_EN\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">type of disinfection<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> originated in the 1980s and involves the use of UV radiation from sunlight. Bottles made from polyethene terephthalate (PET &#8211; \u00a0a sort of recyclable plastic) are first cleaned with soap. The bottles are then filled with water, sealed, and placed in direct sun exposure, e.g. on top of a low roof, for at least 6 hours. A newspaper is positioned underneath and, if after 6 hours the letters of the headline are readable, the water can be used. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">From the four cluster RCTs evaluated in the systematic review, there was moderate quality evidence that the use of SODIS treatments reduced the risk of diarrhoea by about a third. There are several other <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/safewater\/solardisinfection.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">advantages<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to SODIS: simplicity of use and acceptability; low cost if using recycled plastic bottles, minimal change in taste of the water, and a low risk of recontamination if water is served and stored in small narrow-necked bottles. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Disadvantages of SODIS also need to be considered: the need to pretreat water of high turbidity, the limited volume of water that can be treated all at once, and the need for extensive stocks of PET bottles. \u00a0Nevertheless, the impact of the evidence for the use of SODIS has been considerable. The US <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/safewater\/solardisinfection.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> estimate that over 2 million people in 28 developing countries use SODIS for daily drinking water treatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Evidence from systematic reviews has the potential for far-reaching impact. As highlighted above, this extends into humanitarian medicine. If you are interested in this area, the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.evidenceaid.org\/resources\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Evidence Aid<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> website contains a collection of assessed published systematic reviews identified as being of relevance to natural disasters, humanitarian crises, or major healthcare emergencies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1535 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0-1-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0-1-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/pasted-image-0-1-1024x768.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kamal R Mahtani is a GP and Deputy Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. He is also the Director of The Evidence-based Healthcare<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conted.ox.ac.uk\/about\/msc-in-ebhc-systematic-reviews\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> MSc in Systematic Reviews<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can follow him on Twitter <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/krmahtani\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@krmahtani<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Disclaimer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: The views expressed in this commentary represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of his host institution, the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Acknowledgements<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: Jeffrey Aronson &amp; Carl Heneghan for helpful discussions. Pictures from Wikipedia (By SODIS Eawag &#8211; Own work, CC BY 3.0, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=3857398\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=3857398<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Competing interests<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: Kamal Mahtani receives funding from the NIHR School for Primary Care Research Evidence Synthesis Working Group and is Director of a MSc in Systematic reviews.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<!--TrendMD v2.4.8--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The EBM library signposts some essential reading for the practice of Evidence-Based Medicine. In this part of the library, we highlight the role of systematic reviews in humanitarian medicine. Kamal Mahtani Systematic reviews have made significant contributions to the pool of best available evidence in healthcare. In a previous post, I explored the importance of [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14378,14373,14372],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ebm-library","category-evidence-synthesis","category-kamal-mahtani"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine - BMJ EBM Spotlight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine - BMJ EBM Spotlight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The EBM library signposts some essential reading for the practice of Evidence-Based Medicine. In this part of the library, we highlight the role of systematic reviews in humanitarian medicine. Kamal Mahtani Systematic reviews have made significant contributions to the pool of best available evidence in healthcare. In a previous post, I explored the importance of [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BMJ EBM Spotlight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-07T07:48:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-06T00:50:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\"},\"headline\":\"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-07T07:48:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-06T00:50:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":719,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"EBM Library\",\"Evidence Synthesis\",\"Kamal Mahtani\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/\",\"name\":\"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine - BMJ EBM Spotlight\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-07T07:48:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-06T00:50:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png\",\"width\":380,\"height\":250},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/07\\\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/\",\"name\":\"BMJ EBM Spotlight\",\"description\":\"The new blog for the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, edited by Carl Heneghan\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BMJ EBM Spotlight\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/admin-ajax.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/admin-ajax.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":34,\"caption\":\"BMJ EBM Spotlight\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\",\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BMJ\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjebmspotlight\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine - BMJ EBM Spotlight","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine - BMJ EBM Spotlight","og_description":"The EBM library signposts some essential reading for the practice of Evidence-Based Medicine. In this part of the library, we highlight the role of systematic reviews in humanitarian medicine. Kamal Mahtani Systematic reviews have made significant contributions to the pool of best available evidence in healthcare. In a previous post, I explored the importance of [...]Read More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/","og_site_name":"BMJ EBM Spotlight","article_published_time":"2017-11-07T07:48:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-12-06T00:50:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":380,"height":250,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"BMJ","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BMJ","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/"},"author":{"name":"BMJ","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe"},"headline":"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine","datePublished":"2017-11-07T07:48:27+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-06T00:50:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/"},"wordCount":719,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png","articleSection":["EBM Library","Evidence Synthesis","Kamal Mahtani"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/","name":"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine - BMJ EBM Spotlight","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png","datePublished":"2017-11-07T07:48:27+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-06T00:50:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/11\/HEW-Logo-with-image-925X405-DRAFT01-20170620-e1507551033489.png","width":380,"height":250},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/11\/07\/ebm-library-systematic-reviews-support-humanitarian-medicine\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"EBM library: Systematic reviews to support humanitarian medicine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/","name":"BMJ EBM Spotlight","description":"The new blog for the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, edited by Carl Heneghan","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#organization","name":"BMJ EBM Spotlight","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/10\/admin-ajax.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/files\/2017\/10\/admin-ajax.png","width":300,"height":34,"caption":"BMJ EBM Spotlight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe","name":"BMJ","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BMJ"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}