The effectiveness of clinical networks in improving quality of care and patient outcomes: a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies

Table 2 Summary of included quantitative articles

Authors	Country	Type of network	Theme	Study design	Quality rating^a
Gale et al. 2012 [3]	UK	Managed clinical network for neonatal services	Improving quality of care	Observational – before and after	Moderate
Greene et al. 2009 [31]	UK	Tayside Diabetes Managed Clinical Network	Improving quality of care	Observational – cross-sectional	Moderate
Hamilton et al. 2005 [4]	Scotland	Managed clinical network for cardiac services	Improving quality of care	Quasi-experimental – interrupted time series	Moderate
McClellan et al. 1999 [33]	USA	End Stage Renal Disease Networks	Improving patient outcomes	Observational – before and after	Low
McCullough et al. 2014 [30]	Scotland	Scottish Sarcoma Managed Clinical Network	Improving quality of care	Observational – retrospective before and after	Low
Ray-Coquard et al. 2002 [6]	France	Regional cancer network of hospitals	Improving quality of care	Quasi-experimental – controlled before and after	Moderate
Ray-Coquard et al. 2005 [7]	France	Regional cancer network of hospitals	Improving quality of care	Observational – before and after	Moderate
Spence & Henderson-Smart 2010 [32]	Australia	Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network	Improving quality of care	Observational – before and after	Low
Tideman et al. 2014 [34]	Australia	Integrated cardiac support network	Improving patient outcomes	Observational – retrospective before and after	Moderate

^aQuality rating definitions are as follows
• High quality – design and conduct of study address risk of bias, appropriate measurement of outcomes, appropriate statistical and analytical methods, low drop-out rates, adequate reporting
• Moderate quality – do not meet all criteria for a rating of good quality but no flaw is likely to cause major bias, some missing information
• Low quality – significant biases including inappropriate design, conduct, analysis or reporting, large amounts of missing information, discrepancies in reporting

ISSN: 1472-6963