Methods for Incorporating risk of bias assessments into reviews during synthesis
| Number of reviews | % of category total | |
|---|---|---|
| Were risk of bias assessments incorporated into synthesis? | ||
| Yes | 37 | 63 |
| No | 20 | 34 |
| Not applicable | 2 | 3 |
| How were risk of bias assessments incorporated into synthesis?* | ||
| Sensitivity analysis (eg, limiting to studies at lowest risk of bias in a secondary analysis) | 20 | 54 |
| Narrative (discussion within text) | 14 | 38 |
| Exclusion of studies at high risk of bias from main review synthesis | 5 | 14 |
| Other approach | 4 | 11 |
*Denominator is the number of reviews that incorporated risk of bias into the synthesis process. Note that the total adds up to more than 100% because some reviews used multiple methods. The list of other approaches used is available in the web appendix.