| Quality measure |
Details |
Score |
Comments |
| QA question 1 |
Are the research questions and inclusion criteria for the review clearly delineated? |
1 = “Yes” = Who (Population), What (Intervention, Comparator group, Outcome), Where and When described. |
general but concrete description of aims |
| QA question 2 |
Did the report of the review contain an explicit statement that the review methods were established prior to the conduct of the review and did the report justify any significant deviations from the protocol? |
0 = ”No” = research question and inclusion criteria not outlined in detail. |
not provided |
| QA question 3 |
Did the review authors explain their selection of the study designs for inclusion in the review? |
1 = “Yes” = explicit justification of the study designs/types included in the review. |
any design accepted, due to limited number of relevant studies available |
| QA question 4 |
Did the review authors use a comprehensive literature search strategy? |
1 = “Yes” = searched at least 2 databases (relevant to research question), provided key word and/or search strategy, justified publication restrictions (e.g. language), AND searched the reference lists / bibliographies of included studies, searched trial/study registries, included/consulted content experts in the field, where relevant, searched for grey literature, conducted search within 24 months of completion of the review. |
searched 9 databases, grey literature, references |
| QA question 5 |
Did the review authors perform study selection in duplicate? |
0.5 = “Can’t answer / not sure / partially” = Cannot decide between “yes” and “no”, basing on the information provided in the paper. |
two reviewers assessed included studies |
| QA question 6 |
Did the review authors perform data extraction in duplicate? |
0 =”No” = only one reviewer involved in the study selection or no description how many reviewers participated in data extraction. |
no mention of duplicate data extraction |
| QA question 7 |
Did the review authors provide a list of excluded studies and justify the exclusions? |
0.5 = “Can’t answer / not sure / partially” = only provided a list of all potentially relevant studies that were read in full-text form but excluded from the review, but not justified the exclusion from the review of each potentially relevant study that were read in full-text. |
Summary of exclusions in Figure 1 |
| QA question 8 |
Did the review authors describe the included studies in adequate detail? |
1 = “Yes” = ALL the following: Who (Population), What (Intervention, Comparator group, Outcome), Where and When described in detail. |
Web Appendix |
| QA question 9 |
Did the review authors use a satisfactory technique for assessing the risk of bias (RoB) in individual studies that were included in the review? |
0.5 = “Can’t answer / not sure / partially” = Cannot decide between “yes” and “no”, basing on the information provided in the paper. RoB mentioned or not sufficiently assessed (e.g. if multiple sources of bias potentially present, but not all assessed). |
used Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP), which includes selection bias aspect |
| QA question 10 |
Did the review authors report on the sources of funding for the studies included in the review? |
0.5 = “Can’t answer / not sure / partially” = sources of funding mentioned for individual studies included in the review, or reported only for some of the included studies. Cannot decide between “yes” and “no”, basing on the information provided in the paper. |
Studies with potential for conflict of interest, for example, commissioned by construction companies or bicycle manufacturers were excluded (not listed) |
| QA question 11 |
If meta-analysis was performed did the review authors use appropriate methods for statistical combination of results? |
N/A |
no meta-analysis |
| QA question 12 |
If meta-analysis was performed, did the review authors assess the potential impact of RoB in individual studies on the results of the meta-analysis or other evidence synthesis? |
N/A |
no meta-analysis |
| QA question 13 |
Did the review authors account for RoB in individual studies when interpreting/ discussing the results of the review? |
1 = “Yes” = included only low risk of bias studies OR the review provided a discussion of the likely impact of RoB on the results. |
considered in Discussion |
| QA question 14 |
Did the review authors provide a satisfactory explanation for, and discussion of, any heterogeneity observed in the results of the review? |
1 = “Yes” = There was no significant heterogeneity in the results OR if heterogeneity was present the authors performed an investigation of sources of any heterogeneity in the results and discussed the impact of this on the results of the review. |
discussed methodological factors |
| QA question 15 |
If they performed quantitative synthesis did the review authors carry out an adequate investigation of publication bias (small study bias) and discuss its likely impact on the results of the review? |
N/A |
no meta-analysis |
| QA question 16 |
Did the review authors report any potential sources of conflict of interest, including any funding they received for conducting the review? |
1 = “Yes” = The authors reported no competing interests OR the authors described their funding sources and how they managed potential conflicts of interest. |
declared no conflict of interests |
| Quality index |
Overall rating (Quality Index) assigned to each SR, highlighting whether major concerns arose during quality assessment that may affect overall conclusions of a SR: A = Minimal flaws; B = Some flaws; C = Major flaws in many aspects of the review. |
B |
no protocol, some details missing, some bias might be present |
| Suggested review type |
Actual review type:systematic map, systematic review, rapid review, scoping review, narrative review, etc. |
systematic review |
N/A |
| Risk of bias level |
How likely are the main conclusions of the review to be biased? Basing on review type and quality index and quality_index_comment assign: high moderate or low risk? |
medium |
no protocol; some details missing; some bias might be present |