What is evidence synthesis and why does it matter for healthcare?

An introduction to evidence synthesis and systematic reviews, explaining how they combine multiple studies to inform healthcare decisions.

In the 19th century, major improvements in health came from clean, clear water. In the 21st century, progress in health depends on something just as vital: clean, clear information. This video introduces evidence synthesis, often in the form of systematic reviews, and explains why it plays such a crucial role in healthcare decision‑making. Rather than relying on a single study, evidence synthesis brings together results from many studies to provide a more reliable and complete understanding of the evidence. The video also highlights trusted sources of evidence synthesis written for the public, including Cochrane Plain Language Summaries and Campbell Collaboration Plain Language Summaries. If you found this video useful, please like and share. More information and further resources can be found here: cochrane.org/evidence ireland.cochrane.org/ evidencesynthesisireland.ie/ Produced by Cristian Deliv, Elaine Toomey & El Putnam at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Narrated by Michelle Ryan. Copyright Disclaimer: Copyright © ESI 2019 Some Rights Reserved. Creative rights belong to publisher(s), unaltered video may be used for educational purposes only. For any and all alternate uses please contact Evidence Synthesis Ireland.