We will have our next journal club meeting on Tues, 3/27 at 8am in the medicine library. The articles and worksheet are within your email and below! Alternatively, the link below will bring up the article form a UF computer station, VA computer or when logged into the Health Sciences Library.
Journal Club worksheet for reviewing this article
Study description:
- 1. What type of question was asked in this article?
Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Prognostic , Etiologic, Economic
- 2. What type of study (method) was used?
RCT, Retrospective cohort, Case-control, Meta-analysis, Cross-sectional, Descriptive, Decision analytic, Cost-effectiveness
- 3. Where was the study done (if relevant)?
Single center vs multi-center, VA , academic medical center vs community-based, population-based, other
What was the research question (the chief complaint of the article):
Population: who was studied?
Intervention (or exposure): What therapy, risk factors or tests?
Comparison or control: What alternative to intervention or exposure?
Outcome: Clinical, functional or economic?
What was the importance/relevance/context of the question?
This is usually found in the introduction of the article where authors put their study in context of other literature. What do you think about this?
What do you think about the internal validity of this study?
For study of the efficacy of therapy think about these questions:
Did the experimental and control groups start out with a similar prognosis?
Were patients randomized?
Was randomization concealed?
Were patients analyzed in groups to which they were randomized?
Were groups similar regarding known prognostic factors?
Did the experimental and control groups retain a similar prognosis after the study started?
Were patients, clinicians, and outcome assessors aware of group allocation?
Was follow-up complete?
What were the main results?
Think about this in terms of the primary (main) research question that was asked in this article
Do you think these results can be applied to our patients at the VA and/or Shands?
This refers to the external validity of the article.
How do you think the results would be in our patients?
Would the effects be smaller or larger, and why?
Will you offer this therapy to patients that you see? Why or why not?