The Advanced Handbook of Methods on Evidence Based Healthcare

As books go, this is a real heavyweight. It is physically big, with 27 chapters running to over 500 pages. It is expensive, coming in at £69. Yet it is heavyweight in another sense. Some of the chapter authors are heavyweights, leaders, in their fields and this shines through very clearly in the text.

This book aims to provide readers with an insight into some of the most advanced methods involved in evidence based healthcare. When we see the word “advanced” we sometimes worry about things being set out in complex, convoluted, over‐your‐head, impenetrable, coded and cluttered language. Happily, most of this book is clear, comprehensive and concise. A few of the chapters are more challenging to read but they are certainly worth the extra effort.

The book has six sections covering 27 chapters. The six sections are: clinical trials; observational and qualitative methods; measurement of benefit and cost; analytical methods; consensus, reviews and meta‐analysis; identifying and filling gaps in the evidence. Inside each section lies between three‐to‐five chapters. Each chapter is clearly laid out and referenced.

While it is a methods book, the chapter authors sprinkle a good dose of real examples through the text to reinforce some of their points. This certainly helps to keep the writing fresh and engaging.

The book is essentially derived from a large collection of UK NHS Health Technology Assessment (HTA) reports, which are available free of charge from the HTA program. If you want a lot of material in one cover, and if you want to make real progress in understanding some of the latest developments and thinking in evidence based healthcare, this is the only book to buy.