In April our NIHR Evidence Synthesis Scotland Initiative (NESSIE) team celebrated our third anniversary by reflecting on what we have achieved.

We thought we would share some of our highlights and activities in this blog.

As you know, our focus for evidence synthesis projects is on health and social care, and so far, we have completed seven reviews:

• Recent research in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map, has been published in the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Journals Library. You can access the research article here and the interactive map here.
• Twin reviews on Mandatory drug and alcohol treatment orders for improving health outcomes for people with the justice system. Two separate but complementary reviews (one looking at experiences and one looking at effectiveness) were conducted in conjunction with the Salvation Army Centre for Addiction Services and Research. You can access the research article based on the experience of treatment orders here and the article focused on the effectiveness of treatment orders here.
• A large review on Exercise for people with existing vascular disease as a tool for secondary prevention was conducted with our colleagues from the Cochrane Heart, Stroke and Circulation Thematic Group. You can access the research article here.
• A series of rapid reviews were commissioned by the UK National Screening Committee to help inform policy decision-making regarding antenatal screening for maternal Group B streptococcus. A two-phase review on the Benefits and harms of antenatal/intrapartum screening for maternal group B streptococcus and use of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis versus risk-based protocols or no intervention: a rapid review has been published. Phase 1 looked at systematic reviews and phase 2 looked at primary studies. You can access the research article here. Two further rapid reviews on incidence and health consequences have been submitted for publication.

What’s coming up next?

We are currently working on a further four reviews with update blogs to keep you informed on the way.

Finally, there has been lots of activity to get our new reviews started, so look out for further blog posts introducing you to our new projects soon!

If you are interested in reading other blogs on the projects above, as well as giving you an insight into the researchers behind NESSIE, why not take a look at our earlier blog posts.

Blog by Dr Katie Thomson

NESSIE celebrates three years of evidence syntheses! / NESSIE - NIHR Evidence Synthesis Scotland InitiativE by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0