EUnetHTA Adaptation Glossary (beta)

Generalizability is the degree to which the results of a study or systematic review can be extrapolated to other circumstances, in particular to routine health care situations.

Reliability: The extent to which an observation that is repeated in the same, stable population yields the same result (i.e. test-retest reliability). Also, the ability of a single observation to distinguish consistently among individuals in a population.

Clinical Practice Guideline: A systematically developed statement to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for one or more specific clinical circumstances. The development of clinical practice guidelines can be considered to be a particular type of HTA; or, it can be considered to be one of the types of policymaking that is informed or supported by HTA.

The process of assessing and interpreting evidence by systematically considering its validity, results and relevance.

1. "Original research" in which data are first collected. The term primary research is sometimes used to distinguish it from "secondary research" (reanalysis of previously collected data), meta-analysis, and other ways of combining studies (such as economic analysis and decision analysis). However, because systematic reviews can provide answers not possible from individual studies they can also be considered to be primary research.
2. An investigation that collects original (primary) data from patients, e.g. randomized controlled trials, observational studies, series of cases, etc.

Health technology assessment (HTA):the systematic evaluation of properties, effects, and/or impacts of health care technology. It may address the direct, intended consequences of technologies as well as their indirect, unintended consequences. Its main purpose is to inform technology-related policymaking in health care. HTA is conducted by interdisciplinary groups using explicit analytical frameworks drawing from a variety of methods.

Any intervention that may be used to promote health, prevent, diagnose or treat disease, or for rehabilitation or long-term care. This includes pharmaceuticals, devices, procedures and organisational systems used in health care.

Generalizability is the degree to which the results of a study or systematic review can be extrapolated to other circumstances, in particular to routine health care situations.

Research that does not generate primary data but that involves the qualitative or quantitative synthesis of information from multiple primary studies. Examples are literature reviews, meta-analyses, decision analyses and consensus statements.

Fairness in the allocation of resources or treatments among different individuals or groups.