Probably the most important function of meta-analysis in Medicine is to accumulate and integrate evidence for a particular intervention. Meta-analysis is very helpful in practicing evidence-based medicine and in developing clinical guidelines. Meta-analysis can not only help us in better estimation of the overall benefit of an intervention, it can also help us in pointing to possible factors for inconsistent results in different studies. These factors can be investigated in future studies.
This leads us to the second most important role of meta-analysis in Medicine. Meta-analyses can play a key role in planning new studies. Through a systematic research of the literature meta-analysis can help us to identify which questions have already been answered and which remain to be answered. Meta-analysis can further guide us in selecting proper outcome measures or study-populations and aspects of the planned intervention that are likely to be most helpful in answering a research question.
If need for a clinical study is shown and supported with the best possible assimilation of the available clinical evidence, a funding agency is likely to support such a study. Meta-analyses can be used not only to justify the need for a new study, it can put a study protocol on a stronger footing. The meta-analysis can show the potential utility of the planned study by putting the available evidence in context. The graphical elements of the meta-analysis, such as the forest plot, provide a mechanism for presenting the data clearly, and for capturing the attention of the reviewers. Some funding agencies now require a meta-analysis of existing research as part of the grant application to fund new research.
Meta-analysis is also helpful in a researcher's career. Generally, meta-analysis and systematic reviews are considered of a higher standard than narrative reviews. Indeed, a recent study has found that meta-analysis are the most-frequently cited type of research articles. Thus, many journals encourage researchers to submit systematic reviews and meta-analyses that summarize the body of evidence on a specific question. Meta-analyses also play a supporting role in other papers. For example, a paper that reports results for a new primary study might include a meta-analysis in the discussion to synthesize prior data and help to place the new study in context.
Meta-analysis has multiple other uses in medical and non-medical fields. For example, applied researchers in education, psychology, criminal justice, and a host of other fields use meta-analysis to determine which interventions work, and which ones work best. Meta analysis is also widely used in basic research to evaluate the evidence in areas as diverse as sociology, social psychology, sex differences, finance and economics, political science, marketing, ecology and genetics, among others. Pharmaceutical companies use meta-analysis to gain approval for new drugs, with regulatory agencies sometimes requiring a meta-analysis as part of the approval process.
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