title: Can we systematically review studies that evaluate complex interventions?
abstract: The UK Medical Research Council defines complex interventions as those comprising "a number of separate elements which seem essential to the proper functioning of the interventions although the 'active ingredient' of the intervention that is effective is difficult to specify." A typical example is specialist care on a stroke unit, which involves a wide range of health professionals delivering a variety of treatments. Michelle Campbell and colleagues have argued that there are "specific difficulties in defining, developing, documenting, and reproducing complex interventions that are subject to more variation than a drug". These difficulties are one of the reasons why it is challenging for researchers to systematically review complex interventions and synthesize data from separate studies. This PLoS Medicine Debate considers the challenges facing systematic reviewers and suggests several ways of addressing them.
authors: Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. Sasha.Shepperd@dphpc.ox.ac.uk
authors: Sasha
authors: S
authors: Shepperd
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: Lewin
authors: Sharon
authors: S
authors: Straus
authors: Mike
authors: M
authors: Clarke
authors: Martin P
authors: MP
authors: Eccles
authors: Ray
authors: R
authors: Fitzpatrick
authors: Geoff
authors: G
authors: Wong
authors: Aziz
authors: A
authors: Sheikh
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D012107:Research Design; D012196:Review Literature as Topic