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7.3.3 Objective and review question

Owned by Carolyn Phillips
Mar 26, 2024
1 min read

 

The objective(s) of the review should be clearly stated. This should be followed by the specific review question(s). The overarching objectives of reviews of etiology and risk are to determine whether and to what degree a relationship exists between two or more quantifiable variables. Accordingly, the review question should outline the exposure, the population or groups at risk and the disease, symptom or health outcome of interest. The specific context/location (which may include any contextual factors such as geographical, or cultural elements relevant to the topic), and the duration of the exposure (e.g. pregnancy) may also be important to articulate if relevant.

An example of an objective for a systematic review of etiology and risk is:

  • The objective of this review is to assess the epidemiological association between consumption of alcohol (as exposure of interest or risk factor) and lung cancer (as the outcome of interest).

A question that will align with this review objective is:

  • Does the consumption of alcohol increase the incidence of lung cancer?

The exposure and outcome may be positively associated or the relationship may be negative e.g. as one increases the other decreases.