Investigating the cost-effectiveness of health information technologies: a systematic review protocol

Data analysis

A quantitative synthesis is likely to prove inappropriate due to the heterogeneity of technologies, study designs and care contexts. Data will therefore be descriptively summarised and narratively synthesised. We will follow four main steps in conducting an interpretive synthesis of our findings: (1) noting the range of functions and uses of existing systems; (2) developing a preliminary synthesis of the findings of included studies; (3) exploring relationships in the findings and (4) exploring the potential transferability of findings to other contexts and settings.

There are likely to be challenges associated with integrating heterogeneous data sources, due to for example, differences in interventions studied, methods, outcomes, study population and context

We will attempt to address these by judging the relevance of heterogeneity, and the quality of evidence and consistency of findings of included studies.