Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Medical Research Methodology
Published in: BMC Medical Research Methodology 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Is the information of systematic reviews published in nursing journals up-to-date? a cross-sectional study

Authors: Wilson W. S. Tam, Kenneth K. H. Lo, Parames Khalechelvam, Joey Seah, Shawn Y. S. Goh

Published in: BMC Medical Research Methodology | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

An up-to-date systematic review is important for researchers to decide whether to embark on new research or continue supporting ongoing studies. The aim of this study is to examine the time taken between the last search, submission, acceptance and publication dates of systematic reviews published in nursing journals.

Methods

Nursing journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports were first identified. Thereafter, systematic reviews published in these journals in 2014 were extracted from three databases. The quality of the systematic reviews were evaluated by the AMSTAR. The last search, submission, acceptance, online publication, full publication dates and other characteristics of the systematic reviews were recorded. The time taken between the five dates was then computed. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the time differences; non-parametric statistics were used to examine the association between the time taken from the last search and full publication alongside other potential factors, including the funding support, submission during holiday periods, number of records retrieved from database, inclusion of meta-analysis, and quality of the review.

Results

A total of 107 nursing journals were included in this study, from which 1070 articles were identified through the database search. After screening for eligibility, 202 systematic reviews were included in the analysis. The quality of these reviews was low with the median score of 3 out of 11. A total of 172 (85.1%), 72 (35.6%), 153 (75.7%) and 149 (73.8%) systematic reviews provided their last search, submission, acceptance and online published dates respectively. The median numbers of days taken from the last search to acceptance and to full publication were, respectively, 393 (IQR: 212–609) and 669 (427–915) whereas that from submission to full publication was 365 (243–486). Moreover, the median number of days from the last search to submission and from submission to online publication were 167.5 (53.5–427) and 153 (92–212), respectively. No significant association were revealed between the time lag and those potential factors.

Conclusion

The median time from the last search to acceptance for systematic reviews published in nursing journals was 393 days. Readers for systematic reviews are advised to check the time taken from the last search date of the reviews in order to ensure that up-to-date evidence is consulted for effective clinical decision-making.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Glasziou P, Irwig L, Bain C, Colditz G: Systematic reviews in health care a practical guide. In. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,; 2001: 1 online resource (148 p.).
2.
Chalmers I. Chapter 24: using systematic reviews and registers of ongoing trials for scientific and ethical trial design, monitoring, and reporting. In: Egger M, Smith GD, Altman DG, editors. Systematic reviews in health care : meta-analysis in context. 2nd ed. London: BMJ; 2001. p. 429–43.CrossRef
3.
4.
5.
6.
Palese A, Coletti S, Dante A. Publication efficiency among the higher impact factor nursing journals in 2009: a retrospective analysis. Int J Nurs Stud. 2013;50(4):543–51.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Tsujimoto Y, Tsujimoto H, Kataoka Y, Kimachi M, Shimizu S, Ikenoue T, Fukuma S, Yamamoto Y, Fukuhara S. Majority of systematic reviews published in high-impact journals neglected to register the protocols: a meta-epidemiological study. J Clin Epidemiol. 2017;84:54–60.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Polkki T, Kanste O, Kaariainen M, Elo S, Kyngas H. The methodological quality of systematic reviews published in high-impact nursing journals: a review of the literature. J Clin Nurs. 2014;23(3–4):315–32.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Bath-Hextall F, Wharrad H, Leonardi-Bee J. Teaching tools in evidence based practice: evaluation of reusable learning objects (RLOs) for learning about meta-analysis. BMC Med Educ. 2011;11:18.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
10.
Oermann MH. Chapter 13: editorial review process. In: Writing for publication in nursing. Philadelphia: Lippincott; 2002. p. 249–73.
11.
Davidhizar R, Bechtel GA. Avoiding publication delays: author and editor responsibilities. Nurse Author Ed. 1999;9(4):1–4. 7PubMed
12.
Shea BJ, Hamel C, Wells GA, Bouter LM, Kristjansson E, Grimshaw J, Henry DA, Boers M. AMSTAR is a reliable and valid measurement tool to assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews. J Clin Epidemiol. 2009;62(10):1013–20.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Riado Minguez D, Kowalski M, Vallve Odena M, Longin Pontzen D, Jelicic Kadic A, Jeric M, Dosenovic S, Jakus D, Vrdoljak M, Poklepovic Pericic T, et al. Methodological and reporting quality of systematic reviews published in the highest ranking journals in the field of pain. Anesth Analg. 2017;
14.
Samargandi OA, Hasan H. The quality of systematic reviews in hand surgery: an analysis using AMSTAR. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2014;134(3):482e–3e.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Sequeira-Byron P, Fedorowicz Z, Jagannath VA, Sharif MO. An AMSTAR assessment of the methodological quality of systematic reviews of oral healthcare interventions published in the journal of applied oral science (JAOS). J Appl Oral Sci. 2011;19(5):440–7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
16.
Gomez-Garcia F, Ruano J, Aguilar-Luque M, Gay-Mimbrera J, Maestre-Lopez B, Sanz-Cabanillas JL, Carmona-Fernandez PJ, Gonzalez-Padilla M, Velez Garcia-Nieto A, Isla-Tejera B. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on psoriasis: role of funding sources, conflict of interest and bibliometric indices as predictors of methodological quality. Br J Dermatol. 2017;176(6):1633–44.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Brandt JS, Downing AC, Howard DL, Kofinas JD, Chasen ST. Citation classics in obstetrics and gynecology: the 100 most frequently cited journal articles in the last 50 years. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010;203(4):355.e1–7.CrossRef
18.
Tam WW, Wong EL, Wong FC, Hui DS. Citation classics: top 50 cited articles in 'respiratory system'. Respirology. 2013;18(1):71–81.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Huang Y, Mao C, Yuan J, Yang Z, Di M, Tam WW, Tang J. Distribution and epidemiological characteristics of published individual patient data meta-analyses. PLoS One. 2014;9(6):e100151.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
20.
Tam WWS, Lo KKH. Khalechelvam P: Endorsement of PRISMA statement and quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in nursing journals: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2017;7(2):e013905.
21.
22.
Shea BJ, Bouter LM, Peterson J, Boers M, Andersson N, Ortiz Z, Ramsay T, Bai A, Shukla VK, Grimshaw JM. External validation of a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews (AMSTAR). PLoS One. 2007;2(12):e1350.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
Fleming PS, Seehra J, Polychronopoulou A, Fedorowicz Z, Pandis N. Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews in leading orthodontic journals: a quality paradigm? Eur J Orthod. 2013;35(2):244–8.CrossRefPubMed
24.
THETA: PRISMA flow diagram generator. In: Toronto health economics and technology assessment (THETA) collaboration. Edited by Collaboration THEaTAT. Canada: Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment (THETA) Collaboration; 2016.
25.
26.
Moher D, Tsertsvadze A, Tricco AC, Eccles M, Grimshaw J, Sampson M, Barrowman N. When and how to update systematic reviews. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;1:MR000023.
27.
Polit DF, Beck CT. Chaptaer 27: systematic reviews of research evidence: Metaanalysis, Metasynthesis, and mixed studies review. In: Nursing research : generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice. Ninth ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012. p. xiv, 802 pages.
28.
29.
Shojania KG, Sampson M, Ansari MT, Ji J, Doucette S, Moher D. How quickly do systematic reviews go out of date? A survival analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147(4):224–33.CrossRefPubMed
30.
31.
Björka B, Soloman D. The publishing delay in scholarly peer-reviewed journals. J Informetrics. 2013;7(4):10.
32.
Guide for Authors: The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
33.
34.
35.
Parahoo K. Chapter 7: literature reviews. In: Parahoo K, editor. Nursing research : principles, process and issues. 2nd ed. Basingstoke England: New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2014. p. xii, 440 p.CrossRef
36.
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, Group P. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med. 2009;6(7):e1000097.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
37.
Liberati A, Altman DG, Tetzlaff J, Mulrow C, Gotzsche PC, Ioannidis JP, Clarke M, Devereaux PJ, Kleijnen J, Moher D. The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate health care interventions: explanation and elaboration. PLoS Med. 2009;6(7):e1000100.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
38.
Panic N, Leoncini E, de Belvis G, Ricciardi W, Boccia S. Evaluation of the endorsement of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement on the quality of published systematic review and meta-analyses. PLoS One. 2013;8(12):e83138.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
39.
Seo HJ, Kim KU. Quality assessment of systematic reviews or meta-analyses of nursing interventions conducted by Korean reviewers. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2012;12:129.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
Metadata
Title
Is the information of systematic reviews published in nursing journals up-to-date? a cross-sectional study
Authors
Wilson W. S. Tam
Kenneth K. H. Lo
Parames Khalechelvam
Joey Seah
Shawn Y. S. Goh
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2288
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-017-0432-3

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

BMC Medical Research Methodology 1/2017 Go to the issue

Research article

Utilising identifier error variation in linkage of large administrative data sources

Research article

Measuring the burden of treatment for chronic disease: implications of a scoping review of the literature

Research article

Accounting for parameter uncertainty in the definition of parametric distributions used to describe individual patient variation in health economic models

Research article

What does it mean when people say that they have received expressions of concern about their drinking or advice to cut down on the AUDIT scale?

Research article

Estimation of treatment preference effects in clinical trials when some participants are indifferent to treatment choice

Research article

User testing of an adaptation of fishbone diagrams to depict results of systematic reviews