Critical Appraisal of the Published Randomized Controlled Trials That Examined the Effect of Counseling-Educational Interventions On Exclusive Breastfeeding

Background & aim: Due to the significance of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in evidence-based care, it is essential to evaluate the quality of reporting of published RCTs in order to apply the results of trials in the field of breastfeeding counseling and training.Methods: In this critical review, the related articles were identified via searching in the English databases including Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar as well as Persian databases of SID, Magiran and IranDoc, using the relevant keywords. All the articles published from ۲۰۱۰ until ۲۰۲۱ were retrieved. Data collection tools included demographic questionnaire and CONSORT checklist. The quality of clinical trials was evaluated by two assessors using CONSORT ۲۰۱۰. The scoring range was ۰-۴۴.Results: A total of ۱۷ articles were critically appraised. The overall compliance rate of the articles with the items in the CONSORT checklist was ۴۹.۲%. The greatest weakness in reporting was observed in the title and abstract (۱.۰۰± ۰.۳۵). The mean total score of quality of reporting was ۱۸.۳۵±۳.۳۳, with the minimum and maximum scores of ۱۲ and ۲۵, respectively.Conclusion: The appraised articles had an average quality. It is necessary that RCTs be conducted and reported in accordance with standard principles and be thoroughly reviewed critically with relevant checklists including CONSORT. Training of researchers can help to improve the quality of clinical trial reporting.

Keywords:

Critical appraisal , Counseling , Education , Exclusive breastfeeding