A common instrument that is used for cohort studies (and case control studies) is the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We have used it at ECRI, primarily because it has been validated to a certain degree. We are not entirely happy with this instrument however and are looking out for other instruments that have been used by other groups to evaluate the quality of these study designs

From: Evidence based health (EBH) [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dries Hettinga
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 8:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Methodological quality scales for cohort and cross sectional studies

Dear list,

I am about to start an systematic review in order to calculate (/estimate) cost of illness. RCT evidence will be scarce, most will be cohort and/or cross-sectional surveys. I'd be interested to hear from others what methodological quality scales they have used for these types of research designs and why they chose to use these.

Many thanks,

Dries

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Dries Hettinga PhD MSc
Research & Information Manager
BackCare