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LES spotlight

Innovations in evidence products and processes, such as living evidence syntheses (LES) and living guidelines, show that evidence producers can meet the constraints expected of decision-makers. These tools are of increasing interest as they not only summarize the best-available evidence on a topic but are also updated regularly as contexts, issues and evidence evolve, ensuring that decision-makers can quickly adapt their approaches. Updates can also include enhancements to scope (e.g., by expanding the outcomes included in the analysis) and methods (e.g., by incorporating risk of bias assessments and/or GRADE profiles) from previous versions of an LES. Moreover, LESs can produce and/or draw on open datasets such as a .

We have led or supported several living evidence syntheses. To view these you can:

In addition, there are several relevant LESs produced by other teams that are worth highlighting. In an evidence profile of LESs that address public health topics and from scanning of other sources, we found five LESs addressing non-COVID topics:

We also identified several highly relevant COVID-19 LESs that were regularly updated, which focus on:

  • effectiveness of the XBB.1.5 vaccine, and for adults, children and adolescents and over time
  • effectiveness of seven public health and social measures (masks, quarantine and isolation, ventilation, physical distancing, reduction of contacts, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, cleaning, and disinfecting), as well as two LESs that examine combinations of and adherence to these measures, in preventing transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases in non-health care community-based settings

Additional examples of LESs that we have identified that are worth noting, include:

We welcome suggestions to forum@mcmaster.ca of LESs addressing other priority topics that we may not be aware of that we can profile here.