Statistical methods for Cochrane Reviews that compare multiple interventions
Many Cochrane reviews compare more than two interventions, either implicitly or explicitly. Principled methods have been developed for analysing such networks so that both direct evidence from head-to-head comparisons and indirect evidence from studies with common comparators can be utilized.
The Comparing Multiple Interventions Methods Group (CMIMG) has received funding from the Cochrane Methods Innovation Fund to set up three working groups to address specific issues related to these comparisons. The project is bringing together investigators, methodologists, authors, consumers, managing editors and other interested parties to help CMIMG develop consensus guidance for carrying out reviews of multiple interventions.
Group 2 has been tasked with addressing statistical methods for reviews of multiple interventions.
Work on this project is continuing. To date, we have produced the following:
- A bibliography of relevant methodological papers
- A list of available online software & tools for network meta-analysis
Please Give Us Your Input
If you have questions or issues that you would like to see addressed by this group, suggestions for relevant resources, or other input, please use the comments section on this page to let us know.