AOCOPM 2024 Midyear Educational Conference-346719

346719 - Article 21

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The document is an introduction to the concepts of systematic review and meta-analysis, presented by H.S. Teitelbaum at the AOCOPM 2024 Midyear Educational Conference. The document serves as a guide on how systematic reviews and meta-analyses are structured, analyzed, and interpreted, particularly focusing on occupational medicine.<br /><br />A systematic review is described as a summary of research articles covering a common topic. It involves collecting and evaluating studies to determine quality, and it presents findings with a predetermined criteria for inclusion. On the other hand, a meta-analysis merges data from these studies to provide an aggregated statistical estimate, aiming for an objective analysis while identifying biases.<br /><br />The document outlines the process for conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis, including formulating research questions, defining study criteria, assessing risk of bias, combining data, and investigating heterogeneity. Attention is drawn to statistical tools used in these analyses, such as I-squared statistics, Cohen's d, and the use of plots like funnel and forest plots to detect bias and report outcomes.<br /><br />It highlights the challenges and limitations inherent in these methods, such as the accuracy of results being contingent on the quality of the included studies. The importance of addressing heterogeneity and publication bias through subgroup analysis and methodological alterations, like the trim-and-fill method or conducting sensitivity analyses, is emphasized to ensure reliable conclusions.<br /><br />Key components like sample size, variance, confidence intervals, and effect sizes are discussed, with specific examples from a meta-analysis study on the effects of long working hours and overtime on occupational health being referred to throughout the document. The study demonstrated a positive correlation between long working hours and health issues, evidencing its findings through rigorous systematic review and meta-analytic techniques.

Keywords

systematic review

meta-analysis

occupational medicine

H.S. Teitelbaum

AOCOPM 2024

bias detection

statistical tools

heterogeneity

publication bias

long working hours