What assessment tools were used to gauge study quality?

By the meta research methods Maverick's Cove DICL is using for this chapter "Mindfulness & Music" the sources we explored describe a variety of assessment tools used to evaluate the quality of studies investigating the effects of music and mindfulness interventions.

Here's a breakdown:

Tools for Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs):

• CLEAR NPT Checklist (adapted for non-pharmacological trials): This checklist, originally developed by Boutron et al. (2005) and adapted by Yinger and Gooding (2015), was used to assess the quality of non-pharmacological RCTs, focusing on aspects like intervention standardization, provider influence, and bias. Studies scoring below 5 out of 8 were considered to have a high risk of bias. This tool was applied in the Cohen thesis to assess studies by Baylan et al. (2020) and Sorensen et al. (2019).

Tools for Non-Randomized Studies:

• JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Case Reports: For quantitative descriptive studies with repeated measures, the JBI checklist (Moola et al., 2020) was utilized. This checklist includes 8 questions addressing aspects like patient demographics, history, clinical condition, and intervention description. Reviewers make judgments about the study's internal validity based on the responses to these questions. This tool was used in the Cohen thesis to assess the quality of a study by Lesiuk (2015).

• NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Before-After (Pre-Post) Studies with No Control Group: The NIH tool was employed to assess the quality of pre-post studies without a control group, focusing on internal validity. It comprises 12 questions covering areas like study objectives, participant selection, intervention description, and outcome measures. The reviewer assigns an overall quality rating of "good," "fair," or "poor" based on the responses. This tool was used in the Cohen thesis to assess a study by Miller (2017).

Additional Quality Assessment Tools:

• Music-Based Intervention Reporting Criteria: Developed by Robb et al. (2011), this tool was used in the Cohen thesis to evaluate the reporting quality of music interventions across different studies. It assesses aspects such as study design, music therapy method, dependent variable, outcome measures, and results.

General Quality Indicators:

In addition to specific assessment tools, the Cohen thesis also considered these general quality indicators:

• Sample size: Larger sample sizes generally increase the reliability and generalizability of findings.

• Presence of a control group: Control groups allow for more confident attribution of observed effects to the intervention being studied.

• Blinding: Blinding of participants, caregivers, and outcome assessors helps to minimize bias.

The use of these assessment tools and consideration of general quality indicators aimed to provide a systematic evaluation of the rigor and reliability of the studies included in the reviews. This approach helps ensure that the conclusions drawn about the benefits of combining music and mindfulness interventions are based on evidence from well-conducted research.

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