Quality Assessment of Systematic Reviews Performed As An Undergraduate thesis in A Peruvian University: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: To determine the quality of systematic reviews submitted as a thesis in the Medical School of Ricardo Palma University.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review. We included systematic reviews submitted as theses from Ricardo Palma University, and we excluded narrative reviews, editorials, clinical experiments, and those with incomplete data. We performed a structured search on EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, and Institutional Repository from the Ricardo Palma University and RENATI. The risk of bias assessment was performed through the AMSTAR-2 and the modified AMSTAR-2 tools. The primary outcome was review quality. A qualitative synthesis of the information was performed.

Results: One thousand four hundred eighty-seven theses were identified, and exclusion criteria were applied, whereby 11 theses were selected for review and thorough consultation. Of the 11 selected theses, and through the AMSTAR-2 and modified AMSTAR-2 tools, the findings reached were that 90.9% of the included theses presented critically low quality that was not modified even when the quality was reevaluated after its publication as a scientific article.

Conclusion: The systematic reviews presented as undergraduate thesis in the Medical School of Ricardo Palma University showed low and critically low quality. Improvement in systematic review training is required for both students and institutional advisors.

Keywords: medical school; systematic review; thesis.