Critical Appraisal Methods
The usage of a good quality critical appraisal tool allows a structured
approach to the assessment of the rigor of the studies being reviewed(20). The choice of an appropriate critical appraisal
tool is considered to be an integral aspect of conducting a systematic
review and of evidence-based practice (21).
Additionally, it is important to identify that, due to the wide
variation in critical appraisal tools that are available, the quality of
the evaluation that results from a review when using different tools
will also vary, even when applied to the same literature.
Design-specific tools are tailored to highlight potential methodological
issues or bias that is unique to the study design; therefore The
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tools for cohort studies
(qualitative and quantitative) were chosen. CASP is a reputable
organisation whose tools are free and easy to access, making this review
easily reproducible and minimising the potential for varied evaluations
of these pieces of literature.