gms | German Medical Science

Description: Prognosis in health research aims at describing the probability or risk of a person to develop a future outcome given their current health state. Prognostic factors are variables that are associated with the risk of these future health outcomes. Given their importance in the field of precision medicine, many systematic reviews and meta-analyses of prognostic factor studies are undertaken. The critical appraisal of the individual prognostic factor studies is an essential, yet challenging, part of performing such systematic reviews. The QUality In Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool is a useful and reliable tool to systematically assess risk of bias of prognostic factor studies. It uses signalling questions to evaluate a study's validity regarding six domains: study participation, study attrition, prognostic factor measurement, confounding, outcome measurement, and analysis and reporting.

In this workshop we will familiarize participants with how to critically assess the quality of prognostic factor studies using the QUIPS tool. The workshop will consist of an introductory lecture, a small-group exercise followed by a plenary discussion of the exercise.

Planned methods: We will start the workshop with an introduction of the topic of prognostic research, sources of bias in prognostic factor studies, and the QUIPS tool. Participants will then be divided into small groups of about four people to gain a first experience with the tool. Based on an example of a prognostic factor study, each group will be asked to discuss and complete (several domains of) the QUIPS tool. Towards the end of the workshop, each group will present their risk of bias evaluation for all workshop participants and there will be room for discussion.

We will bring print-outs of the prognostic factor study to be evaluated during the workshop. We will provide participants access to the online version of the QUIPS tool. In order to work with this tool during the workshop, participants are invited to bring their laptops.

Competing interests: BB is the Coordinating Editor, and JVAF is the Managing Editor of the Cochrane Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders Group. JVAF is also an editor for the Urology Group, clinical editor for the BMJ and Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.