Critical Appraisal of the Published Randomized Controlled Trials That Examined the Effect of Counseling-Educational Interventions On Exclusive Breastfeeding

Due to the significance of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in evidence-based care, it is essential to evaluate the quality of reporting of published RCTs in order to apply the results of trials in the field of breastfeeding counseling and training.

In this critical review, the related articles were identified via searching in the English databases including Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar as well as Persian databases of SID, Magiran and IranDoc, using the relevant keywords. All the articles published from 2010 until 2021 were retrieved. Data collection tools included demographic questionnaire and CONSORT checklist. The quality of clinical trials was evaluated by two assessors using CONSORT 2010. The scoring range was 0-44.

A total of 17 articles were critically appraised. The overall compliance rate of the articles with the items in the CONSORT checklist was 49.2%. The greatest weakness in reporting was observed in the title and abstract (1.00± 0.35). The mean total score of quality of reporting was 18.35±3.33, with the minimum and maximum scores of 12 and 25, respectively.

The appraised articles had an average quality. It is necessary that RCTs be conducted and reported in accordance with standard principles and be thoroughly reviewed critically with relevant checklists including CONSORT. Training of researchers can help to improve the quality of clinical trial reporting.