Quality appraisal of spatial epidemiology and health geography research: a scoping review of systematic reviews
Wood, S.M.; Alston, L.; Beks, H.; Mc Namara, K.; Coffee, N.T.; Clark, R.A.; Wong Shee, A.; Versace, V.L.
Health and Place 83: 103108
2023
ISSN/ISBN: 1873-2054 PMID: 37651961 Document Number: 519807
A scoping review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted to understand how systematic reviews assess the methodological quality of spatial epidemiology and health geography research. Fifty-nine eligible reviews were identified and included. Variations in the use of quality appraisal tools were found. Reviews applied existing quality appraisal tools with no adaptations (n = 32; 54%), existing quality appraisal tools with adaptations (n = 9; 15%), adapted tools or methods from other reviews (n = 13; 22%), and developed new quality appraisal tools for the review (n = 5; 8%). Future research should focus on developing and validating a quality appraisal tool that evaluates the spatial methodology within studies.