title: Evidence-based decision-making in infectious diseases epidemiology, prevention and control: matching research questions to study designs and quality appraisal tools.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Project on a Framework for Rating Evidence in Public Health (PRECEPT) was initiated and is being funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to define a methodology for evaluating and grading evidence and strength of recommendations in the field of public health, with emphasis on infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control. One of the first steps was to review existing quality appraisal tools (QATs) for individual research studies of various designs relevant to this area, using a question-based approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  Through team discussions and expert consultations, we identified 20 relevant types of public health questions, which were grouped into six domains, i.e. characteristics of the pathogen, burden of disease, diagnosis, risk factors, intervention, and implementation of intervention. Previously published systematic reviews were used and supplemented by expert consultation to identify suitable QATs. Finally, a matrix was constructed for matching questions to study designs suitable to address them and respective QATs. Key features of each of the included QATs were then analyzed, in particular in respect to its intended use, types of questions and answers, presence/absence of a quality score, and if a validation was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total we identified 21 QATs and 26 study designs, and matched them. Four QATs were suitable for experimental quantitative study designs, eleven for observational quantitative studies, two for qualitative studies, three for economic studies, one for diagnostic test accuracy studies, and one for animal studies. Included QATs consisted of six to 28 items. Six of the QATs had a summary quality score. Fourteen QATs had undergone at least one validation procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this methodological study can be used as an inventory of potentially relevant questions, appropriate study designs and QATs for researchers and authorities engaged with evidence-based decision-making in infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany. hardert@rki.de.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harder
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takla
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rehfuess
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Vivar
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Matysiak-Klose
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eckmanns
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: de Carvalho Gomes
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Frode
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Forland
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Joerg J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Meerpohl
authors.forename: Antony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schünemann
authors.forename: Teun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zuiderent-Jerak
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Wichmann
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003657:Decision Making; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D012107:Research Design