PHVIT9550 Systematic reviews and metaanalyses Course description

Healthcare decisions for individual patients and for public health policies should be informed by the best available research evidence. The evidence comes from good reviews which is a state-of-the-art synthesis of current evidence on a given research question.Systematic reviews and meta-analyses play an important role in clinical guidelines, patient information, in clinical and political decision-making and in an evidence-based practice. A systematic review can also play an important role in a PhD Thesis by providing an overview of the thesis topic.

This course offers an overview of the use of systematic reviews, the method of systematic reviews, qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) and meta-analysis and how to critically appraise a systematic review or QES. The course will focus on systematic reviews of qualitative and quantitative studies, and will be partly organized as parallel sessions. The course will be run as a five day course over a period of three months.

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On completion of the course, the PhD candidate has achieved the following learning outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The PhD candidate:

• is at the forefront of knowledge in how to write a protocol of a systematic review or qualitative evidence synthesis
• understands the role of best evidence research in clinical and political decision-making

Skills

The PhD candidate can:

• plan and write a protocol of a systematic review or qualitative evidence synthesis
• formulate a focused research question
• plan a literature search
• conduct a systematic and explicit selection process of the available articles
• assess the methodological quality of included articles
• extract data from included studies and plan analyses
• critically assess a systematic review

General competence

The PhD candidate can:

• the principles of how to search for research literature
• the principles of how to run a meta-analysis or a synthesis of qualitative studies
• the principles of how to assess the quality of evidence by Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) or GRADE CERQual
• the principles of how to conduct a systematic review

Work and teaching methods consist of lectures, small group work and discussions, self-study, and practical exercises. The outcomes of the small group sessions are presented and discussed in plenary. Parallel sessions offer, teaching and small group work in critical assessment of included studies, analysis, and the quality of evidence within systematic reviews of qualitative or quantitative studies.

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In this course, the students will participate in skills training in groups to further develop their competence relating to the performance of social work, focusing on children, youth, families and local communities. Students will practise working with people in difficult life situations, and they will gain insight into and knowledge of how different power relations can affect relationships and professional collaboration with others. To acquire the professional competence required to work as a social worker, students must acquire self-awareness and knowledge and practise realistic situations.

By filming their training, the students are able to watch themselves and analyse their own conduct as future professionals. 

Language of instruction is Norwegian.

Students must have completed and passed the first year of the Bachelor’s Programme in Social Work.

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has broad knowledge of communication and interaction skills when conversing with children and families
• has knowledge of how to cooperate with different agencies in a local community 
• is familiar with how to establish, coordinate, organise and lead cooperation meetings 

Skills

The student:

• can carry out conversations, and assess and prioritise relevant measures targeting users in different arenas 
• can recognize and assess undesirable incidents and risks in encounters with users in different arenas
• can apply their knowledge of interprofessional collaboration, organisation and management of cooperation meetings 

• can use an interpreter in interactions with users 
• can use digital platforms for communication
• can establish, organise and lead groups in different arenas and with different social problems
• can reflect on innovative solutions for inhabitants in a local community, based on the population’s participation

General competence

The student:

• can critically reflect on what affects professional interaction with individuals and families
• can reflect on their own values and attitudes and how they affect their professional practice
• can exercise professional judgement 

• can reflect on the importance of digital communication in professional practice and interaction

Teaching methods vary between lectures/seminars (e-lectures) and skills training with and without the use of filming.

The following compulsory activities must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1. Compulsory attendance and active participation in skills training and seminar days. 

The minimum attendance requirement is 80% and is based on overall attendance. If a student’s absence exceeds 20% but is lower than 40%, a compensatory coursework requirement will be set. The coursework requirement must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam. If a student’s absence exceeds 40%, they lose the right to take the exam. 

The reason why attendance is compulsory is that the student will in this way acquire competence necessary to meet the objectives of the course that they would be unable to acquire from solely reading the syllabus and/or taking the exam.

• Coursework 2. INTERACT - INTER1200

The following required coursework must be approved:

Students must submit an individual log. Scope: 500 words (+/- 10%). The log requires participation at the two-day seminar. An individual assignment may compensate for absence.

Read more about INTERACT and INTER1200 here: https://www.oslomet.no/en/research/research-projects/interact