Problems with evidence assessment in COVID-19 health policy impact evaluation: a systematic review of study design and evidence strength

• Elizabeth A Stuart,
• Emily R Smith,
• Elizabeth M Stone,
• Eli Ben-Michael,
• Cathrine Axfors,
• Brooke Jarrett,
• Sarah E Wieten,
• Van Thu Nguyen,
• Beth Ann Griffin,
• Noah A Haber,
• Emma Clarke-Deelder,
• Avi Feller,
• Joshua A. Salomon,
• Benjamin MacCormack-Gelles,
• Clara Bolster-Foucault,
• Jamie R Daw,
• Laura Anne Hatfield,
• Carrie E Fry,
• Christopher B Boyer,
• Caroline M Joyce,
• Beth S Linas,
• Ian Schmid,
• Eric H Au,
• Alyssa Bilinski

Affiliations

Elizabeth A Stuart

4 Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Emily R Smith

Department of Public Health, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA

Elizabeth M Stone

1 Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Eli Ben-Michael

2 Department of Statistics, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

Cathrine Axfors

Reproductive Health, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Brooke Jarrett

Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Sarah E Wieten

Departments of Philosophy and Internal Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

Van Thu Nguyen

1Centre de Recherche Épidémiologie et Statistique Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS-UMR1153) Inserm/Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France

Beth Ann Griffin

4RAND Europe, Brussels, Belgium

Noah A Haber

Meta Research Innovation Center at Stanford University (METRICS), Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

Emma Clarke-Deelder

Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard University T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Avi Feller

Department of Statistics, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

Joshua A. Salomon

Department of Health Policy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

Benjamin MacCormack-Gelles

Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard University T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Clara Bolster-Foucault

Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada

Jamie R Daw

Health Policy and Management, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York, USA

Laura Anne Hatfield

Department of Biostatistics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Carrie E Fry

Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Christopher B Boyer

Department of Epidemiology, Harvard University T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Caroline M Joyce

Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada

Beth S Linas

Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Ian Schmid

Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Eric H Au

School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Alyssa Bilinski

Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy, Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA