AOCOPM 2024 Midyear Educational Conference-Z - Introduction to Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Application to Occupational Medicine - Howard Teitelbaum, DO, PhD, MPH, FAOCOPM(d)

Z - Introduction to Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Application to Occupational Medicine - Howard Teitelbaum, DO, PhD, MPH, FAOCOPM(d)

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Video Summary

The presentation provided an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, particularly in the realm of occupational medicine. The speaker emphasized the increasing prevalence of these studies in medical literature and why they are important. The main points covered included defining systematic reviews and meta-analyses, explaining their components, how to evaluate them, and their application to real-world scenarios. The presentation also stressed the importance of methodological rigor, such as the use of clear criteria and multiple reviewers to assess and select studies for inclusion.<br /><br />Key concepts included heterogeneity among studies, which refers to differences not due to chance, and how to address this through tools like funnel plots and statistical measures like Higgins I-squared. The talk illustrated how to examine studies for bias and interpret confidence intervals and risk ratios. The potential problem of publication bias was also discussed, alongside methods like trim and fill to identify and account for missing studies.<br /><br />The presenter offered practical guidance on evaluating systematic reviews through a checklist approach, which helps professionals make informed decisions based on evidence. A specific example from the literature was reviewed, analyzing long working hours' impact on occupational health, illustrated with statistical figures and subgroup analyses. The speaker concluded by advocating for applying these methods to assess the impact of working hours on healthcare professionals, stressing the relevance and applicability of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in clinical decision-making.

Keywords

systematic reviews

meta-analyses

occupational medicine

methodological rigor

heterogeneity

publication bias

funnel plots

risk ratios

checklist approach

working hours impact