Comparative effectiveness research - the conduct and synthesis of systematic research in order to compare the benefits and harms of alternative treatment options - is of critical importance in enabling informed health care decisions to be made. This user-friendly, practical handbook examines in depth how best to perform such comparative effectiveness research. A wide range of topics and methods are discussed, including research synthesis, sampling analysis, assessment of evidence design, systematic evaluation of statistical analysis, and meta-analysis. The discussion extends well beyond the fundamentals by encompassing 'complex' systematic reviews, 'cumulative' meta-analyses, and logic-based versus utility-based decision making. Health care providers, researchers, instructors, and students will all find this to be an invaluable reference on the compelling current issues and important analytical tools in comparative effectiveness research.

Professor Francesco Chiappelli, Ph.D. has contributed extensively to the development of the field of evidence-based and comparative effectiveness decision-making in health care over the past several years through his teaching, research publications, and authorship of several book chapters and books. Professor Chiappelli is the founder and director of the International Forum on evidence-based decisions and comparative effectiveness research (IF-EBD-CER), and is the honorary president of the Brazilian Association for Evidence-based dentistry. He is a American Dental Association Champion of evidence-based dentistry, and he is listed as a Fulbright Specialists for his expertise in evidence-based and comparative effectiveness analysis in health care.