In this newsletter:
Report: “Going Virtual” with GRADE-CERQual Training During COVID-19
Evidence Synthesis Ireland (ESI) in collaboration with Cochrane Norway hosted an online GRADE-Cerqual Workshop on 18
th, 19
th, 22
nd & 23
rd March 2021. Thirty-four participants that came from a variety of backgrounds including healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, decision makers, attended the workshop. Most participants were from Ireland, but there were also participants from UK and Norway. Participants were required to have a basic knowledge of qualitative evidence synthesis and interested in learning more on the GRADE-CERQual approach.
The workshop ran over four afternoons for two hours each afternoon. Throughout the workshop a selection of 8 videos on the GRADE-CERQual approach, available on Youtube, were used -
https://www.cerqual.org/grade-cerqual-videos/. The workshop was facilitated by Claire Glenton and Simon Lewin (NIPH) and supported by Linda Biesty & Pauline Meskell (ESI).
ESI regularly host evidence synthesis methodology training workshops, but normally in a face-to-face capacity. Because of the current global restrictions, it was necessary to run the event online, and we decided to spread it out over four days to assist participants to assimilate the information and to allow opportunity to reflect on the material covered in each workshop, and to optimise understanding and engagement. The online platform Zoom was used as it easily facilitates large numbers of attendees and interactive break-out rooms for small group work. The team agreed the format and roll-out beforehand. It consisted of participants watching a video clip, followed by a short interactive question and answer session and then participants were randomly allocated to different breakout rooms and given a worksheet related to the aspect of GRADE-CERqual under discussion. Participants worked in groups of four/five and then re-joined the main group for feedback and discussion.
Twenty-six participants (76% RR) completed an online evaluation after the final session. The workshop was very well evaluated with over 96% (n=25) of participants rating it as excellent (77%) to good (19%). The majority of participants liked the workshop spread over 4 days, although a few did suggest reducing it to three days and extending each workshop by an hour. The majority of participants (87%) were happy with an online delivery and found it flexible and engaging. Participants commented positively on the engagement, knowledge, and interaction with the facilitators. Opinions in relation to suggestions for change were mixed and included providing the video clips beforehand, while others suggested that viewing video content in class was more effective.
Others preferred hearing ‘live’ from the facilitators rather than listening to the video. The consensus was for an online delivery over 3-4 days, with videos and reading material available for participants before the workshop. Live presentations in the workshop, with small group work in breakout rooms using guided activities and feedback in the main group with discussion were strongly supported by all. Overall, the Introduction to GRADECERqual workshop was a very positive experience for participants and facilitators alike.
Written by Pauline Meskell and Linda Biesty
Want to test the iSoQ tool in your next QES?
What is iSoQ?
iSoQ (interactive Summary of Qualitative Findings) is a free online data-management software designed to assist reviewers with applying the GRADE-CERQual approach to assess confidence in their individual review findings.
What does iSoQ offer?
- A streamlined data management process that will accelerate the production of GRADE-CERQual Assessment Worksheets for each of your review findings.
- A simple way to produce Evidence Profiles and Summary of Qualitative Findings Tables that allign with the most recent GRADE-CERQual guidance on terminology and presentation.
- A platform for sharing your review findings and GRADE-CERQual assessments with decision makers and/or guideline committees.
- A database for hosting iSoQ tables.
What does a beta version mean?
A beta version is a version that is not yet final and in the stage of advanced user-testing. We will create accounts for you and members of your team and provide you with support in exchange for your help with putting iSoQ to the test in real reviews! The software has been through multiple rounds of user-testing over the past 16 months, including five real-world reviews. However, we need more teams to test it so we can find and fix lingering bugs and glitches before going fully-public! We hope that some of you, including members of the GRADE-CERQual project group, will be ready and willing to be among the first to test the new and exciting tool! Please feel free to circulate this announcement to colleagues who might be interested in iSoQ.
We welcome any review teams who would like to try out the tool on their reviews to contact us at isoq@epistemonikos.org.
Intro to GRADE-CERQual Video Series Now Online!
Members of the GRADE-CERQual Coordinating Team delivered a recorded presentation of the GRADE-CERQual approach to the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. There is a video for each GRADE-CERQual component and the overall assessment of confidence. In addition there are short videos on qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) in general and QES for decision making.
You can now access these videos via our website:
https://www.cerqual.org/grade-cerqual-videos/
New YouTube Channel for QES resources - Re:QuESTOR
The
Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group' has launched a YouTube channel called
Re:QuESTOR which provides a bank of trusted resources to support training in Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (QES). The playlist currently includes more than 50 videos!
Report: Online Workshop for AHRQ using iSoQ
Megan Wainwright and
Jane Noyes (members of the
GRADE-CERQual Coordinating Team) provided an online GRADE-CERQual training for the US Agency for Healhcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to 3 pilot workgroups receiving training on synthesis of qualitative and mixed methods studies. Instead of using the usual paper-based GRADE-CERQual Workshop Worksheets to give the pilot teams some hands-on experience of applying GRADE-CERQual, the worksheets were re-created in the interactive Summary of Qualitative Findings (iSoQ) tool. Each participant was provided with an iSoQ account and a workshop iSoQ project was shared with them. The three teams worked in separate copies of the workshop example project in iSoQ and came to independent group asessments before coming back to the large group to discuss and compare. From the trainer's perspective, an advantage offered by the iSoQ version of the workshop worksheet compared to the paper version was that the trainer could see each group's progress from within the platform and could download each group's completed Evidence Profiles. Participants appeared to navigate the platform easily and appreciated being able to keep their iSoQ accounts after the training. For more information on iSoQ visit :
https://isoq.epistemonikos.org/
