The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 15 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Development of a quality assessment tool for systematic reviews of observational studies (QATSO) of HIV prevalence in men having sex with men and associated risk behaviours
Open accessAbstract
Background: Systematic reviews based on the critical appraisal of observational and analytic studies on HIV prevalence and risk factors for HIV transmission among men having sex with men are very useful for health care decisions and planning. Such appraisal is particularly difficult, however, as the quality assessment tools available for use with observational and analytic studies are poorly established. Methods: We reviewed the existing quality assessment tools for systematic reviews of observational studies and developed a concise quality assessment checklist to help standardise decisions regarding the quality of studies, with careful consideration of issues such as external and internal validity. Results: A pilot version of the checklist was developed based on epidemiological principles, reviews of study designs, and existing checklists for the assessment of observational studies. The Quality Assessment Tool for Systematic Reviews of Observational Studies (QATSO) Score consists of five items: External validity (1 item), reporting (2 items), bias (1 item) and confounding factors (1 item). Expert opinions were sought and it was tested on manuscripts that fulfil the inclusion criteria of a systematic review. Like all assessment scales, QATSO may oversimplify and generalise information yet it is inclusive, simple and practical to use, and allows comparability between papers. Conclusion: A specific tool that allows researchers to appraise and guide study quality of observational studies is developed and can be modified for similar studies in the future.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“The need for complete reporting of all relevant methodological aspects as a prerequisite to assessing the risk of bias of studies was highlighted in 10 articles, [16, 33, 35, 47, 50, 56, 86, 87, 90, 91] and was the focus of recommendations in a publication from the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) group [12].”
From Methods to systematically review and meta-analyse observational studies: a systematic scoping review of recommendations (2018) · cites this paper as [86]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., Vandenbroucke, J. P., & Initiative, F. T. S. (2007) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040296 · Cited by 23,020
Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology<SUBTITLE>A Proposal for Reporting</SUBTITLE>
Stroup, D. F. (2000) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.283.15.2008 · Cited by 20,623
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., Vandenbroucke, J. P., & Initiative, F. T. S. (2007) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-147-8-200710160-00010 · Cited by 17,796
(2014) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 17,633
Downs, S. H., & Black, N. (1998) · Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech.52.6.377 · Cited by 8,252
Moher, D., Cook, D. J., Eastwood, S., Olkin, I., Rennie, D., & Stroup, D. F. (1999) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(99)04149-5 · Cited by 4,826
Evaluating non-randomised intervention studies
Deeks, J., Dinnes, J., D'Amico, R., Sowden, A., Sakarovitch, C., Song, F., Petticrew, M., & Altman, D. (2003) · Health Technology Assessment · doi:10.3310/hta7270 · Cited by 2,907
Systematic Reviews in Health Care: Meta‐analysis in Context
Pittler, M. (2010) · Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies · doi:10.1111/j.2042-7166.2002.tb05479.x · Cited by 1,639
Sanderson, S., Tatt, I. D., & Higgins, J. P. (2007) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dym018 · Cited by 1,531
Systems to rate the strength of scientific evidence.
West, S. L., King, V., Carey, T. S., Lohr, K. N., Mckoy, N. A., Sutton, S. F., & Lux, L. J. (2002) · PubMed Central · Cited by 873
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Altman D, Egger M, Pocock S, Vandenbrouke JP, von Elm E: Strengthening the reporting of observational epidemiological studies. STROBE Statement: Checklist of Essential Items Version 3. 2005 [http://www.strobe-statement.org/Checklist.html]
- Deeks J, Glanville J, Sheldon T: Undertaking Systematic Reviews of Effectiveness: CRD Guidelines for Those Carrying Out or Commissioning Reviews. York, England: NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York; 1996, CRD Report 4
- The Cochrane Collaborative Review Group on HIV Infection and AIDS: Editorial Policy: Inclusion and Appraisal of Experimental and Non-experimental (Observational) Studies. [http://www.igh.org/Cochrane]
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–256 of 256
Circulating Galectin-3 levels and Diabetic Nephropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Guo, Y. G., Li, L., & Hu, S. (2023) · BMC Nephrology · doi:10.1186/s12882-023-03226-x · Cited by 10
Corcoran, E., Bird, M., Batchelor, R., Ahmed, N., Nowland, R. A., & Pitman, A. (2024) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-024-18528-4 · Cited by 10
Gonah, L., & Nomatshila, S. C. (2024) · Annals of Global Health · doi:10.5334/aogh.4418 · Cited by 9
Zhang, W., Rao, H., Feng, B., Liu, F., & Wei, L. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039272 · Cited by 9
Causal inference between rheumatoid arthritis and prostate cancer
Ou, J., Zou, L., Wu, Y., Zhang, Q., Fang, Y., Qiu, M., Tian, X., Ma, L., Bi, H., & Liu, C. (2023) · Clinical and Experimental Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10238-023-01151-9 · Cited by 8
Han, W., Zhang, C., Cao, F.-Y., Cao, F., Jiang, L., & Ding, H.-Z. (2016) · Current Problems in Cancer · doi:10.1016/j.currproblcancer.2016.11.007 · Cited by 8
Association of serum uromodulin with diabetic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Barr, S. I., El-Azeem, E. M. A., Bessa, S. S. E.-D., & Mohamed, T. M. (2024) · BMC Nephrology · doi:10.1186/s12882-024-03854-x · Cited by 6
A systematic rapid evidence assessment of late diagnosis
Caird, J., Hinds, K., Kwan, I., & Thomas, J. (2012) · Cited by 6
Assessing the prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV infection among people with severe mental illness
Goodkin, K. (2016) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(15)00569-6 · Cited by 6
Brain tumors and induced pluripotent stem cell technology: a systematic review of the literature
Shayestehfar, M., Taherkhani, T., Jahandideh, P., Hamidieh, A. A., Faramarzpour, M., & Memari, A. H. (2024) · Annals of Medicine and Surgery · doi:10.1097/ms9.0000000000002760 · Cited by 5
Ciapponi, A., Glujovsky, D., Virgilio, S. A., & Bardach, A. (2017) · Value in Health Regional Issues · doi:10.1016/j.vhri.2017.07.011 · Cited by 5
Integrative Review of Related Factors and Defining Characteristics of Lack of Family Integrity
Jarana‐Díaz, T., Romero‐Martín, M., Ponce‐Blandón, J. A., & Picón, N. J. (2020) · International Journal of Nursing Knowledge · doi:10.1111/2047-3095.12289 · Cited by 5
Luecha, T., Peremans, L., Dilles, T., Poontawee, P., & Rompaey, B. V. (2020) · Drugs Education Prevention and Policy · doi:10.1080/09687637.2020.1729701 · Cited by 5
HIV incidence among men who have sex with men in mainland China: a systematic review protocol
Huang, W., Wang, L., Mi, G., Zahn, R. J., Taussig, J., Peterson, S. R., Baral, S., Moore, R. H., Huang, X., Hou, J., et al. (2021) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-021-01828-w · Cited by 4
Fang, J., Guo, X., Zheng, B. J., Han, W., Chen, X., Zhu, J., Xie, B., Liu, J., Luan, X., Yan, Y., et al. (2017) · Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics · doi:10.1007/s00404-017-4620-5 · Cited by 3
Audiological assessment of children with HIV/AIDS: a meta-analysis
Pulcherio, J. O. B., de Azevedo, C. D. M. P. E. S., Lopes, M. K. D., Rocha, S. C. M., Silva, P. C. R. E., Costa, V. M., & Costa, A. B. S. (2020) · Jornal de Pediatria · doi:10.1016/j.jped.2019.11.003 · Cited by 3
Li, Z., Xu, S., Chen, L., Huang, S., Kuerban, X., & Li, T. (2023) · Frontiers in Oncology · doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1090860 · Cited by 3
Sexual risk-taking behavior amongst emerging adults in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysisPreprint
Chea, S. K., Kagonya, V., Abdullahi, O. A., Abubakar, A. A., Abbeddou, S., Michielsen, K., & Hassan, A. S. (2022) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2022.09.13.22279893 · Cited by 3
The role of NM23 in patients with colorectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Han, W., Ma, J., Cao, F., Zhang, C., Zhu, R., Hu, Y., Chen, M., & Ding, H.-Z. (2017) · Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology [Medical Sciences] · doi:10.1007/s11596-017-1686-z · Cited by 2
Wang, X., Liu, D., & Yang, J. (2022) · Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers · doi:10.1089/gtmb.2021.0199 · Cited by 2
The Spatial Ecological Environment Design of the Waterfront Public Areas of Rural Rivers
Ge, Z., & Xin, Z. (2023) · Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S · doi:10.2478/eces-2023-0024 · Cited by 2
The influence of the 4th industrial revolution on family cohesion–A systematic review protocol
Balogun, T. V., October, K. R., Adebiyi, B. O., & Roman, N. V. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0288954 · Cited by 2
Cutting force measurement: Hand tool instrumentation used in slaughterhouses - a systematic review.
Tirloni, S. F., Tirloni, A. S., Roqueiro, N., Merino, E. A. D., Merino, G. S. A. D., & Moro, A. R. P. (2021) · EXCLI journal · doi:10.17179/excli2021-3167 · Cited by 2
Murphy, D., Orgel, E., Koek, W., Frei‐Jones, M. J., Denton, C. C., & Kamat, D. (2021) · Journal of Pediatric Intensive Care · doi:10.1055/s-0041-1735876 · Cited by 3
Usman, F., Farouk, Z. L., Tsiga-Ahmed, F. I., Abdussalam, M., Jalo, R. I., Mohammad, S. S., & Aliyu, M. H. (2022) · Journal of Perinatal Medicine · doi:10.1515/jpm-2022-0009 · Cited by 2
Prognostic and Clinicopathological Value ofPINX1in Various Human Tumors: A Meta-Analysis
Liang, H., Xiong, Z., Li, Y., Kong, W., Yao, Z., Li, R., Deng, M., & Hu, K. (2018) · BioMed Research International · doi:10.1155/2018/4621015 · Cited by 2
Prognostic value of NM23 in patients with gastric cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Wang, B.-F., Wang, Q., Han, W., Chen, M., & Bao, J. (2018) · Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics · doi:10.4103/0973-1482.183188 · Cited by 2
Sexual Behavior Among Emerging Adults in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Chea, S. K., Kagonya, V., Abdullahi, O. A., Abubakar, A. A., Abbeddou, S., Michielsen, K., & Hassan, A. S. (2024) · Sexually Transmitted Diseases · doi:10.1097/olq.0000000000002043 · Cited by 5
The role of illness perceptions in epilepsy throughout the lifespan: A systematic review
Rizou, I., Papavasiliou, A. S., van Middendorp, H., & Gucht, V. D. (2025) · European Journal of Paediatric Neurology · doi:10.1016/j.ejpn.2025.10.013 · Cited by 2
Ketelaars, M., Sprenger, M., Bos, A. J. M., de Grauw, A. M., Burger, M., van Veen, M., & Jong, J. C. K. (2025) · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech-2025-224640 · Cited by 1
Gonah, L., Ginindza, T. G., & Hlongwana, K. W. (2026) · Journal of Global Health · doi:10.7189/jogh.16.04130 · Cited by 1
Bianco, A., Quaresima, B., Pileggi, C., Faniello, M. C., Lorenzo, C. D., Costanzo, F. S., & Pavía, M. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057781 · Cited by 1
Wilkinson, K., Sheets, L., Fitch, D., & Popejoy, L. (2021) · Journal of Biomedical Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.jbi.2021.103713 · Cited by 1
Stress echocardiography in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease: A systematic review
Filho, J. J. D. S. C., & Neufeld, P. M. (2021) · Brazilian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences · doi:10.12957/bjhbs.2021.59743 · Cited by 1
Impact of Caregiver Support on Patient Self-Care Outcomes with Heart Failure: A Systematic Review
Alnomasy, N. (2020) · Journal of Nursing and Practice · doi:10.36959/545/377 · Cited by 1
Audiological assessment of children with HIV/AIDS: a meta‐analysis
Pulcherio, J. O. B., de Azevedo, C. D. M. P. E. S., Lopes, M. K. D., Rocha, S. C. M., Silva, P. C. R. E., Costa, V. M., & Costa, A. B. S. (2020) · Jornal de Pediatria (Versão em Português) · doi:10.1016/j.jpedp.2020.01.003 · Cited by 1
Duan, H., Ding, X., & Luo, H. (2020) · Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine · doi:10.3892/etm.2020.9096 · Cited by 1
Takats, C., Kwan, A., Wormer, R., Goldman, D., Jones, H. E., & Romero, D. R. (2022) · doi:10.2196/preprints.40380 · Cited by 1
Ketelaars, M., Sprenger, M., Bos, A. J. M., de Grauw, A. M., Burger, M., van Veen, M., & Jong, J. C. K. (2025) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2025.05.30.25328669 · Cited by 1
Using observational studies for effectiveness: finding quality with GRACE
Dreyer, N. A. (2013)
Comparcini, D., Simonetti, V., Blot, S. I., Tomietto, M., & Cicolini, G. (2017) · PROFESSIONI INFERMIERISTICHE
Wakefield, M. A. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101993-1
Zheng, Q., Min, S., & Zhou, Q. (2021) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-531208/v1
High‐Impact Sporting Activity Following Hip Resurfacing A Systematic Review
Kidd, V. D. (2015) · JBJS Journal of Orthopaedics for Physician Assistants · doi:10.2106/jbjs.jopa.15.00073
HIV Incidence Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Mainland China: A Systematic Review ProtocolPreprint
Huang, W., Wang, L., Mi, G., Zahn, R. J., Taussig, J., Peterson, S. R., Baral, S., Moore, R. H., Huang, X., Hou, J., et al. (2020) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-105279/v1
Cardozo, G., Tirloni, S. F., Moro, A. R. P., & Marques, J. L. B. (2022) · doi:10.2196/preprints.40473
Motahari-Nezhad, H. (2023) · CUB Ph.D. Dissertations (Corvinus University of Budapest) · doi:10.14267/phd.2023046
Shen, Y., Zheng, Q., Che, G., & Chen, L. (2024) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3827300/v1
The Role of Interoception in Lifestyle Factors: A Systematic ReviewPreprint
Mulder, J., Boelens, M., van der Velde, L. A., Brust, M., & Jong, J. C. K. (2024) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2024.10.02.24314756
Gonah, L., Mabunda, S. A., Faleni, M., & Nomatshila, S. C. (2025) · Journal of Global Health Economics and Policy · doi:10.52872/001c.137872
Gonah, L., Mabunda, S. A., Faleni, M., & Nomatshila, S. C. (2025) · Journal of Global Health Economics and Policy · doi:10.7189/001c.137872
Dietary prevention of type 2 diabetes : the role of fruit and vegetable intake
Carter, P. (2012) · Figshare
Sabbagh, H., Othman, M. A., Khogeer, L. N., Alharbi, H., harthi, A. A., & Abdulgader Yaseen Abdulgader, A. (2020) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.12838748
Guo, Y., Li, L., & Hu, S. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.23435197
Sabbagh, H., Othman, M. A., Khogeer, L. N., Alharbi, H., harthi, A. A., & Abdulgader Yaseen Abdulgader, A. (2020) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.12838745
Metadata
- Authors
- Wong, W. C., Cheung, C. S., & Hart, G. J.
- Affiliations
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Mortimer Market Centre (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wong, William CW
- Venue
- Emerging Themes in Epidemiology
- Published
- 2008-11-17
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 23-23
- ISSN
- 1742-7622 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2603000
- OpenAlex
- W2161763362
- Cited by
- 257
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 0.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Emerging Themes in Epidemiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Open Scholarship Institutional Repository (Washington University in St. Louis) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Keywords
- quality assessment tools, systematic reviews, observational studies, HIV prevalence, men who have sex with men, HIV risk behavior, generalizability, internal validity, reporting quality, bias, confounding, critical appraisal
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
