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The following reports are currently under development. If you would like to provide comments about a particular topic, serve as a peer reviewer for the draft report, or know the timeline for completion, please contact the ESP Coordinating Center.
To review the most up-to-date protocols, please visit the PROSPERO or OSF websites. Protocol registration details for individual projects can be found along with the brief abstract for the project, below.
PROSPERO registration number: CRD420251101842
KQ1: Among adults with metastatic tumors in the lungs, what is the safety of percutaneous ablation compared to stereotactic body radiation therapy?
KQ2: Among adults with metastatic tumors in the lungs, what is the effectiveness of percutaneous ablation compared to stereotactic body radiation therapy?
PROSPERO registration number: CRD420251145073
KQ1: Among adults who have undergone radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, what interventions are effective for management of chronic xerostomia?
KQ2: Among adults who have undergone radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, what interventions have been used for management of chronic xerostomia?
PROSPERO registration number: CRD420251180370
KQ1: What are the benefits and harms of interventions for co-occurring opioid use disorder (OUD) or prescription opioid dependence syndrome (PODS) and chronic pain?
KQ2: What are the reported health systems outcomes of interventions for co-occurring OUD or PODS and chronic pain?
PROSPERO registration number: CRD420261306976
KQ1: What is the effectiveness of nutritional counseling/education* interventions for non-dialysis dependent CKD when delivered by a dietitian?
KQ1a: What is the comparative effectiveness of nutritional counseling/education* interventions for non-dialysis dependent CKD delivered by a dietitian compared to other professionals?
*Dietitians providing some sort of education, training, nutritional counseling, medical nutrition therapy, nutritional classes, precision nutrition, or similar interventions, to patient (individual or group).
KQ1: What is the quantity, distribution, and characteristics of the evidence on the impacts of opioid overdose prevention education among adults at elevated risk for opioid overdose?
Participants/population: Adults at elevated risk of opioid overdose, their family caregivers, and/or clinicians of adult patients. Elevated risk of opioid overdose is defined as individuals with:
Intervention(s)/exposure(s): Educational interventions focused on knowledge, attitudes and/or practices/behaviors related to opioid overdose prevention.
Comparator(s): Usual care/standard of care, waitlist control, historical controls
Context:
Outcome(s): Changes in overdose prevention, recognition or response across these 3 domains:
PROSPERO registration number: CRD420251268353
Key Questions
KQ1: Among current and former members of the military service, what is the association between military-related exposures (ie, deployment, combat injury, and environmental substances) and the development of key neurologic diseases?
KQ1: What are the benefits and harms of clinical hypnosis to treat adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, or substance use disorders?
KQ2: What are the benefits and harms of clinical hypnosis to treat adults with chronic pain?
Participants/population: Adults 18+
Intervention(s)/exposure(s): Clinical hypnosis (also “hypnotherapy”), alone or as adjunct to other therapies
Comparator(s): Any
Context: Any setting
Outcome(s):
KQ1: Symptom severity, treatment response or recovery, quality of life, social functioning, adverse events
KQ2: Pain severity, pain-related interference or functioning, change in pain medication use, treatment response or recovery, quality of life, social functioning, adverse events
The overarching aim is to develop and refine a causal logic model explaining how and why RN transition-to-practice programs work, for whom, and in what health system contexts, as well as how their components and functions influence organizational-, nurse-, and patient-level outcomes. Within the model, we will be specifically addressing 2 key questions:
KQ1: Are RNTTPs for entry-to-practice registered nurses (RNs) effective for improving patient-level outcomes (eg, clinical outcomes measured at the patient level, patient satisfaction)?
KQ2: What is the return on investment (ROI) for RNTTPs for entry-to-practice RNs?
Participants/population: Entry-to-practice RNs in the first 12 months of employment following graduation and/or licensure for entry to practice
Intervention(s)/exposure(s): Transition to practice or nurse residency programs specifically designed for entry-to-practice RNs to provide support or preceptorship during the first 12 months of employment following graduation and/or licensure for entry to practice
Comparator(s): Any comparator (eg, usual care, active comparator, historical controls)
Context: Any health care setting; programs implemented in countries listed on the 2022 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to approximate US health care delivery context.
Outcome(s):
Aim: Develop logic model
KQ1:
KQ2:
KQ1: What are the benefits and harms of the therapeutic use of psilocybin as a primary or adjunct treatment for depressive disorders?
KQ2: Do the benefits or harms of psilocybin for depression vary based on patient, intervention, or setting characteristics?
KQ3: What evidence is available to inform implementation of psilocybin treatment?
Participants/population: Adults diagnosed with a depressive disorder (eg, Major Depressive Disorder or Bipolar Disorder). Studies of patients with depression secondary to other health conditions (eg, terminal cancer, end-stage renal disease) will be ineligible.
Intervention(s)/exposure(s): Psilocybin used as a primary treatment or as an adjunct to psychotherapy or another treatment
Comparator(s): Any (eg, placebo, other treatments)
Outcome(s):
KQ1 & 2: Clinical outcomes (eg, depression severity), functioning/quality of life, health care utilization, retention in treatment, patient satisfaction
KQ3: Implementation outcomes (barriers, facilitators, effectiveness of implementation strategies, etc)
KQ1: What are the benefits and harms of low-dose radiation therapy for the treatment of osteoarthritis in adults?
Participants/population: We will include adults ≥18 years of age with osteoarthritis.
We will exclude patients who have received previous radiation treatment to the same anatomical site.
Intervention(s)/exposure(s):
Comparator(s): Sham radiation therapy, alternative treatments that do not include radiation, no treatment.
Context: Any setting
Outcome(s):
KQ1: What assessment tools are effective for identifying the presence of chronic widespread pain or chronic overlapping pain conditions?
KQ2: What is the prognosis of adults with chronic widespread pain or chronic overlapping pain conditions compared to adults with chronic pain that is not widespread and does not include overlapping pain conditions?
KQ3: What is the effectiveness of interventions for chronic pain in adults with chronic widespread pain or chronic overlapping pain conditions compared to adults with chronic pain that is not widespread and does not include chronic overlapping pain conditions?
Participants/population: Adults with chronic (lasting ≥ 3 months) widespread pain or chronic overlapping pain conditions including:
Studies in patients with multisite/multifocal pain (discrete pain in 2 or more sites) that is not described as widespread or diffuse will be excluded.
Intervention(s)/exposure(s):
KQ1: Tools for assessing the presence of chronic widespread pain or chronic overlapping pain conditions in a clinical or research setting
KQ2: None
KQ3: Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for treating chronic pain
Comparator(s):
KQ1: Any
KQ2 & 3: Adults with chronic pain that is not widespread and does not include overlapping pain conditions
Outcome(s):
KQ1: Reliability, validity, accuracy
KQ2: Prognosis (eg, course and severity of chronic pain, number of medication trials, polypharmacy, health care utilization, other clinical outcomes)
KQ3: Pain, functioning, quality of life, health care utilization, other clinical outcomes.
aChronic overlapping pain conditions defined as a set of disorders that show high levels of cooccurrence and include 2 or more of the following chronic pain conditions: Vulvodynia, Temporomandibular Disorders, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, Chronic Tension-Type Headache, Chronic Migraine Headache, Chronic Low Back Pain.
