The Psychological Health Center of Excellence creates systematic reviews and rapid reviews. These reviews can help stakeholders in the Military Health System make decisions about psychological healthcare.

What is a systematic review?

Systematic reviews answer specific questions by evaluating and summarizing existing research. For example, they can help us better understand how safe and effective a healthcare intervention is. Systematic reviews are different than other types of reviews because they use a transparent and thorough process to identify and evaluate research studies. The Institute of Medicine in 2011 in Finding What Works in Health Care: Standards for Systematic Reviews, Cochrane, and other organizations outline best practices for conducting these reviews.

What is a rapid review?

Systematic reviews are considered one of the best ways to synthesize evidence. They provide comprehensive, thoroughly researched summaries of current science. They are extremely helpful in informing healthcare practices and policies that are supported by scientific research. They can, however, require several resources and take up to several years to complete. Alternatively, “rapid reviews” can be conducted when evidence summaries are needed within a shorter timeframe.

Unlike systematic reviews, rapid reviews don’t follow a standard set of methods. Instead, they modify traditional systematic review procedures to reduce the amount of time and resources needed. The table below shows some potential modifications. Rapid reviews differ depending on the stakeholder's goal, the topic’s scope, and the amount of time available to complete the review.

Expediting the Systematic Review Process

	Systematic Reviews	Rapid Reviews
Time to Complete	12 months–several years	1–6 months
Review Topic	Comprehensive key questions addressing effectiveness, safety, cost, etc.	Limited number and complexity of key questions
Search Strategy	Sensitive, systematic search for published and grey literature	Abbreviated search using a limited number of databases and resources May apply restrictions limiting results to certain publication dates, study types, language, etc.
Screen and Select	Inclusive, pre-defined criteria for inclusion Two reviewers concurrently reviewing and selecting studies Meticulous review of full-text articles and extraction of multiple data elements	Narrow criteria for inclusion, which may be iteratively redefined based on search results Single reviewer screening and selection of studies Limited data elements for extraction
Synthesis and Conclusions	Qualitative and quantitative synthesis of findings May include meta-analysis Comprehensive critical appraisal of individual studies and quality of evidence assessment	Descriptive summary of findings Characteristics of included studies May include critical appraisal of individual study designs

How does PHCoE conduct reviews?

PHCoE receives topics of interest for evidence synthesis from leaders and decision-makers across the MHS. A team of PHCoE staff works with the requestor to refine key questions and devise a protocol for conducting the review. The PHCoE team then executes the agreed upon methodology to produce the report. In the past several years, our reviews have focused on the topics presented in the graphic below.

Recent Reviews

View peer-reviewed publications:

• Mental health risk factors for psychological disorders after COVID-19 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis
• Effectiveness of intimate partner violence programs: An umbrella review
• Systematic review and meta-analysis of neurofeedback training efficacy and neural mechanisms in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder
• A systematic review of music therapy for symptoms of traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder in adults
• Treatments for adjustment disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
• A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of deployment and combat exposures on suicide attempts and deaths
• A systematic review of the impact of interventions changing access to lethal means on suicide attempts and deaths
• Loss of PTSD diagnosis in response to evidence-based treatments: A systematic review and meta-analysis
• Case management for suicide prevention: A rapid review and evidence map
• Genetic and peripheral biomarkers of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury: A systematic review
• A systematic review of problematic social media use and occupational functioning
• Evidence-based telehealth interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis
• Caring contacts for suicide prevention: A systematic review and meta-analysis 
• Outcomes and prognosis of adjustment disorder in adults: A systematic review 
• Systematic review and meta-analysis of predictors of adjustment disorders in adults
• Rapid review on the effectiveness of telehealth interventions for the treatment of mental health disorders
• Posttraumatic stress disorder treatment dropout among military and veteran populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis
• Advances in repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review
• A systematic review evaluating screening instruments for gambling disorder finds lack of adequate evidence
• Prediction models for suicide attempts and deaths: A systematic review and simulation