Economic evaluation synthesis: time for a methodological update to support equitable decision-making

The increasing reliance on valid and reliable evidence from research studies for decision-making has led to tremendous improvements in health policy and practice interventions. The systematic synthesis of research studies, a more modern evolution of this movement, has further improved decision-making, particularly in the realm of health intervention effectiveness. This entails putting research studies through the rigorous evidence synthesis process, including the clear and a priori identification of a precise clinical or public health research question, the selection of studies that match all aspects of this question, the appraisal of the methodological rigor of those studies, and the extraction and pooling of relevant data from these studies.