Oregon State University Listeriosis Outbreaks Systematic Review Report

(Single space, 1” margins on all sides)

Results (1-2 pages): describe what the outbreak investigations included in the review found (18 pts)

• Indicate the number of articles initially identified and the number of articles identified after applyingthe inclusion/exclusion criteria (text version of figure described in Methods section above)

• Describe the results of the investigations collectively – that is, summarize each of the items belowfor the studies as a group. NOTE: feel free to add items based on your review

o Impact (e.g. # people affected, # states involved, morbidity and mortality, etc.)

o Identification (i.e. how were the outbreaks initially identified/detected?)

o Case finding (i.e. how were subsequent cases identified?)

o Investigative methods (i.e. study design or approach used to determine source)

o Control measures (i.e. interventions used to control the outbreak)

o Limitations (i.e. limitations of the investigations)

• Include a table summarizing articles/outbreaks identified (columns should include at a minimum:lead author, year, setting/location, study design, # cases, source(s) of infection or risk factors withestimates of measure(s) of association, if applicable [i.e. provide data!]). Use MS Word tablefunction. Include a descriptive title.

NOTE: the focus of outbreak investigations into different types of diseases will vary. For example,published outbreak investigations of vaccine preventable diseases tend to focus implementing andevaluating control measures (i.e. vaccination, isolation, etc.). Published outbreak investigations of afoodborne outbreak tend to focus on identifying the implicated food item. Feel free to tailor your resultssection (particularly the third item above) to the investigations reviewed. Similarly, note that someinvestigations will not use a formal epidemiologic study design. For example, investigations into a rarebut serious disease may only include a handful of cases. In this instance, a case series was used andoften, the cases are simply described and do not include measures of association (e.g. OR or RR).Again, you can tailor your review to fit your disease. Rest assured, I will alter the rubric as well.

Discussion (2-3 pages): Synthesize the results of the outbreak investigation – what do they mean? (15pts)

• Summarize and discuss significance of key findings – that is, those that are consistent across theoutbreaks (e.g. source(s) of infection, study design, control measures used, populations affected,limitations, laboratory techniques, etc.)

• Identify at least 3 strengths and 3 limitations of your review (not the individual investigations)

• Provide at least 3 of your recommendations to prevent and control future outbreaks, indicating howthey can be used and by whom

• Conclusions: final paragraph summarizing key conclusions

I also attached my revised method and rubrics for result and discussion sections here.

I can provide the pdfs for articles if you would like.