Table 1 : Results of Quality assessment for the four studies . |
Criteria |
Dayan , et al |
HSS , et al |
Lanata , et al |
Sabchare on , et al |
Villar , et al |
Leo , et al |
2 . Was the method of randomization adequate ( i . e ., use of randomly generated |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
assignment )? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 . Was the treatment allocation concealed ( so that assignments could not be predicted )? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
4 . Were study participants and providers blinded to treatment group assignment ?
5 . Were the people assessing the outcomes blinded to the participants ' group assignments ? 6 . Were the groups similar at baseline on important characteristics that could affect outcomes ( e . g ., demographics , risk factors , co-morbid conditions )? 7 . Was the overall drop-out rate from the study at endpoint 20 % or lower of the number allocated to treatment ? 8 . Was the differential dropout rate ( between treatment groups ) at endpoint 15 percentage points or lower ?
9 . Was there high adherence to the intervention protocols for each treatment group ? 10 . Were other interventions avoided or similar in the groups ( e . g ., similar background treatments )? 11 . Were outcomes assessed using valid and reliable measures , implemented consistently across all study participants ? 12 . Did the authors report that the sample size was sufficiently large to be able to detect a difference in the main outcome between groups with at least 80 % power ?
Yes ( subject blinded )
Yes ( observer blinded )
Yes ( subject blinded )
Yes ( observer blinded )
Yes ( subject blinded )
Yes ( observer blinded )
Yes ( subject blinded )
Yes ( observer blinded )
Yes ( subject blinded )
Yes ( observer blinded )
Yes ( subject blinded )
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes ( 10 % dropout )
Yes ( 3 % points diff .)
Yes ( 2 % dropout )
Yes ( 0.5 % points diff .)
Yes ( 7 % dropout )
Yes ( 3 % points diff .)
No
Yes ( 0.2 % points diff .)
Yes ( 10 % dropout )
Yes ( 0.3 % points diff )
No
Yes ( 7.26 % dropout )
Yes ( 1 % points diff .)
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
No No No No No No
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes