Earlier this month, the U.S. GRADE Network held its second two-day, comprehensive, all-virtual systematic review workshop. This workshop allowed participants to learn about each step of the systematic review process, from designing a search strategy to meta-analysis to preparing a manuscript for publication. True to USGN style, the workshops consisted of a mixture of large-group lectures and smaller-group experiential learning components in which participants received a tutorial of Rayyan (a free online screening tool), assessed studies for risk of bias, and created risk of bias and forest plots in Cochrane's Review Manager software.
Uniquely, this workshop featured nine Evidence Foundation scholars who attended the workshop free of charge. As part of their applications for this scholarship, these participants described a proposed or current systematic review project related to health care, with a preference given to projects aimed at addressing inequities or with a focus on underserved populations. The nine accepted applicants provided a diverse array of exciting projects - from HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis to interventions for rabies control to weight-bearing exercise in pregnant patients - and hailed from across the globe, from Canada and Benin to Turkey, Syria, Dubai, and Kazakhstan.
Note: applications for scholarships to attend the upcoming GRADE Guideline Development Workshop, held virtually November 30 - December 2, 2022, close September 30. See application details here.