The Role of Systematic Reviews as Part of Decision-Making Process: Descriptive Study of the Brazilian Experience

Background : Systematic reviews (SRs) are important synthesis mechanisms for aiding the epidemiology background in decision-making process. Since 2004, the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MoH) have been used the international reviews for compiling health technology assessment (HTA) reports and rapid reviews. SRs provide information of greater consistency for decision-making relating to the healthcare system, since they increase the magnitude and precision of the results evaluated. Objective: To describe the use of SRs HTA reports and in the MoH's decisions. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study conducted by reviewing the MoH's documents and official registers and by using personal experience Results: Between 2004 and 2011, the MoH requested 65SRs. Of these, 27 (41.5%) were sent to the MoH's permanent consultative committees as support material. Eight were used as information in making decisions, and seven were cited in eight HTA reports of the MoH. Considering all the systematic reviews (Cochrane Library/Plus and Brazilian Cochrane), it was observed that there were 83HTA reports with citations in total among 262 reports produced between 2006 and 2011. Conclusion and implications for practice and for research: SRs are sources of information for decision-making and for compiling HTA reports for the MoH. The implication of this study for practice was that a standardized method for registering SRs was developed. The implications for new research consisted of identifying barriers against and factors favoring the use of SRs, along with measuring the economic impact of systematic reviews on efficiency in the healthcare system.