Järjestelmälliset katsaukset tutkimustiedon tiivistämisen menetelmänä: menetelmä ja sovelluskohteet sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollossa

Authors

• Virpi Jylhä Pohjois-Savon hyvinvointialue
• Hanna Ristolainen Itä-Suomen yliopisto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1721-1010
• Taru Kekoni Itä-Suomen yliopisto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3167-0758
• Ulla-Mari Kinnunen Itä-Suomen yliopisto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3610-3998

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23990/sa.141780

Keywords:

Evidence-based practices, research methods, systematic reviews as topic

Abstract

To ensure the quality and effectiveness of social and health services, we need to synthesise and disseminate research evidence to improve the organisation and practice of services. There is a wealth of research data and a systematic review is a research method that reliably identifies and synthesises information. The purpose of this article is to describe the processes, methods and applications of systematic reviews that address different research questions in the development of social and health care practice. The article presents in more detail a quantitative systematic review focusing on effectiveness studies and a qualitative systematic review. It also presents a scoping review and its applications. The systematic review is undertaken according to a precise process. From the perspective of the evaluation of social and health services and interventions, a quantitative systematic review answers the question of the effectiveness of an intervention or service. A qualitative systematic review provides information on the appropriateness, feasibility or meaningfulness of an intervention or service. A scoping review is used when the aim is to identify and review the available research on a particular topic or phenomenon. Systematic reviews are used to develop evidence-based guidelines for health care practice, but in social care the translation of research knowledge into practice is much weaker and will require considerable effort in the future.