Quality appraisal of spatial epidemiology and health geography research: A scoping review of systematic reviews
Version 2 2024-06-03, 00:34Version 2 2024-06-03, 00:34
Version 1 2023-09-11, 05:00Version 1 2023-09-11, 05:00
journal contribution
posted on 2023-09-11, 05:00authored bySarah M Wood, Laura Alston, Hannah Beks, Kevin Mc Namara, Neil T Coffee, Robyn A Clark, Anna Wong Shee, Vincent VersaceVincent Versace
A scoping review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted to understand how systematic reviews assess the methodological quality of spatial epidemiology and health geography research. Fifty-nine eligible reviews were identified and included. Variations in the use of quality appraisal tools were found. Reviews applied existing quality appraisal tools with no adaptations (n = 32; 54%), existing quality appraisal tools with adaptations (n = 9; 15%), adapted tools or methods from other reviews (n = 13; 22%), and developed new quality appraisal tools for the review (n = 5; 8%). Future research should focus on developing and validating a quality appraisal tool that evaluates the spatial methodology within studies.