Healthcare decision makers in search of reliable information that compares health interventions increasingly turn to systematic reviews for the best summary of the evidence. Systematic reviews identify, select, assess, and synthesize the findings of similar but separate studies, and can help clarify what is known and not known about the potential benefits and harms of drugs, devices, and other healthcare services. Systematic reviews can be helpful for clinicians who want to integrate research findings into their daily practices, for patients to make well-informed choices about their own care, for professional medical societies and other organizations that develop clinical practice guidelines. Too often systematic reviews are of uncertain or poor quality. There are no universally accepted standards for developing systematic reviews leading to variability in how conflicts of interest and biases are handled, how evidence is appraised, and the overall scientific rigor of the process. In Finding What Works in Health Care the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 21 standards for developing high-quality systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research. The standards address the entire systematic review process from the initial steps of formulating the topic and building the review team to producing a detailed final report that synthesizes what the evidence shows and where knowledge gaps remain. Finding What Works in Health Care also proposes a framework for improving the quality of the science underpinning systematic reviews. This book will serve as a vital resource for both sponsors and producers of systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research.

Women’s Gynecologic Health, Third Edition is a trusted, comprehensive, and evidence-based text that presents women’s gynecologic health from a woman-centered and holistic viewpoint. Encompassing both health promotion and management of gynecologic conditions, it provides clinicians and students with a strong foundation in gynecologic care and the knowledge necessary to apply it in clinical practice. With an emphasis on the importance of respecting the normalcy of female physiology, it is an essential reference for all women’s healthcare providers. The Third Edition includes four new chapters on prenatal and postpartum care, including anatomy and physiologic adaptations of normal pregnancy, diagnosis of pregnancy and overview of prenatal care, common complications of pregnancy, and postpartum care.

Helps readers understand the principles of health care and management for diverse types of delivery systems and the role of ob-gyns and other providers in hospital and office practice.

Gynecologic Health Care: With an Introduction to Prenatal and Postpartum Care continues to set the standard for evidence-based gynecologic health care and well-being in an extensively updated fourth edition. As in prior editions, the text presents gynecologic health care using a holistic and person-centered approach. Encompassing both health promotion and management of gynecologic conditions, it provides clinicians and students with a strong foundation in gynecologic care and the knowledge necessary to apply it in clinical practice. With an emphasis on the importance of respecting the normalcy of physiology, it is an essential reference for all midwives, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other clinicians who provide gynecologic health care.

More children born today will survive to adulthood than at any time in history. It is now time to emphasize health and development in middle childhood and adolescence--developmental phases that are critical to health in adulthood and the next generation. Child and Adolescent Health and Development explores the benefits that accrue from sustained and targeted interventions across the first two decades of life. The volume outlines the investment case for effective, costed, and scalable interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the cross-sectoral role of education. This evidence base can guide policy makers in prioritizing actions to promote survival, health, cognition, and physical growth throughout childhood and adolescence.