Workshop on meta-analysis (Lund, Sweden)

This two day workshop organised by Cochrane Sweden is specifically related to interpreting and conducting meta-analysis. It will take place on campus in Lund, Sweden. In case of few registrations or travel restrictions within Europe – it will be held online instead.  

Statisticians have been invited from different Cochrane Groups to guide participants through basic steps in creating, interpreting and exploring a meta-analysis. The workshop will contain both theoretical and practical aspects. For the practical application and exercises with forest plots, RevMan Web will be used (the updated browser-based version of RevMan 5). The workshop will be conducted in English. 

Content (including lectures, discussions and practical sessions): 

  • Introduction to systematic reviewing and meta-analysis Introduction to treatment effects 

  • Data extraction, transformation and imputation 

  • Performing and interpreting meta-analyses in RevMan5/RevMan Web  

  • Identifying and measuring heterogeneity and strategies for addressing heterogeneity 

  • Performing and interpreting sub-group analyses  

  • Using the calculator in RevMan 5/RevMan Web to extract and analyze study data not reported as simple treatment effect estimates  

Lecturers/facilitators:  

  • Chris Rose is a statistician at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (Folkehelseinstituttet; FHI). He is a statistical editor for the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) review group and supports its systematic reviewers around the world. He recently joined FHI’s new Center for Epidemic Interventions Research and works on the design and analysis of RCTs in low and middle income countries. He has a PhD in statistical modelling (University of Manchester) and holds Chartered Statistician status with the UK’s Royal Statistical Society. 

  • Cinzia Del Giovane is a statistician at the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults, University-Hospital of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena (Italy). She is staff member of Cochrane Italy, Methods representative at the Cochrane Council, member of the Cochrane Statistics Methods Group and methods Editor of Cochrane Heart Group. She has a PhD in Statistics Methodology for Scientific Research (University of Bologna). 

  • Rebecka Hall is the product owner of RevMan, Cochrane’s core tool for structuring and storing study data, generating meta-analyses and generating articles for the Cochrane Library. After studying medical engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm she embarked on the journey to understand and support the world of systematic reviews. After 5 years of focusing on the Cochrane universe, RevMan Web is now available for external users and Rebecka continues to work hard with a motivated team to inform better decisions in healthcare worldwide.

Participants:  

  • The workshop is mainly aimed at people wanting to learn more about meta-analysis, people using systematic reviews and meta-analyses in research or decision making, or people doing or planning to do systematic reviews with meta-analyses.  

Requirements for participants:  

  • Basic knowledge about systematic review methodology according to the Cochrane Methodology (e.g the concepts of PICO, Risk of Bias and GRADE).  

  • An ability to read and understand basic statistical quantities used in RCTs and meta-analyses (e.g., treatment effects such as differences in means, odds ratios, and risk ratios). 

  • An understanding of the basic aims of a systematic review and meta-analysis, and how to read a forest plot. 

Dates and location:  

  • 10-11 of October 2022, approximately 08.30-16.30.  

  • Medicon Village in Lund, see map. 

A definitive schedule will be sent out closer to the workshop to accepted participants.  

Fee:  

  • The fee for the workshop will be 3.000 SEK (excluding VAT for participants outside of Sweden). 

  • If admitted to the workshop, additional details for payment will be sent to you.  

Registration: 

  • If the workshop is booked up very fast, participants from the same institution will have to be limited. If that is the case, Cochrane Sweden will reach out to all in the same institution after the application time has ended to resolve this. This is done in order to reach as many organizations and institutions as possible. 

  • You register for this workshop by going to this link and submitting your information.  

  • You will hear back from Cochrane Sweden if you are accepted to the course by August 19th at the latest. You will then be contacted regarding your invoice information.

Workshop resources: 

  • RevMan 5 software, with the latest update. You can download it for free from here. 

  • RevMan Web. You can open up a 7-day practice review for free when you have registered and logged in with a Cochrane Account, and a subscription to the platform is available for longer term use. 

  • Cochrane Handbook. You can download it for free from here. 

Preparations:  

  • Before the course, you will need to do some limited preparations. They will be sent out when you are accepted to the workshop.

  • If you have any questions related to the workshop, you can contact martin.ringsten@med.lu.se