Writing a Cochrane systematic review on preventive interventions to improve safety: the case of the construction industry.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this paper is to describe the main steps and to conduct a systematic literature review on preventive interventions concerning work-related injuries and to illustrate the process.


METHODS
Based on the Cochrane handbook, a structured framework of six steps was outlined for the development of a systematic review. This framework was used to describe a Cochrane systematic review (CSR) on the effectiveness of interventions to prevent work related injuries in the construction industry.


RESULTS
The 6 main steps to write a CSR were: formulating the problem and objectives; locating and selecting studies; assessing study quality; collecting data; analysing data and presenting results; and interpreting results. The CSR on preventing injuries in the construction industry yielded five eligible intervention studies. Re-analysis of original injury data of the studies on regulatory interventions, through correcting for pre-intervention injury trends led to different conclusions about the effectiveness of interventions than those reported in the original studies.


CONCLUSIONS
The Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions provides a practical and feasible six-step framework for developing and reporting a systematic review for preventive interventions.
van der Molen
H F
HF
Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Department: Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. vandermolen@arbouw.nl
Hoonakker
P L T
PL
Lehtola
Marika M
MM
Hsiao
H
H
Haslam
R A
RA
Hale
A R
AR
Verbeek
J H
JH
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012107:Research Design; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D017751:Safety Management / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology