Conference Agenda

Network meta-analysis is an extension of pairwise meta-analysis that allows us to compare three or more interventions simultaneously, by combining direct and indirect evidence from a network of studies. Network meta-analysis can be used to estimate the relative treatmenteffects between any pair of interventions in the network, it increases precision compared to using only direct evidence, and it can produce a hierarchy of the interventions.

In the morning session of this full-day course we will demonstrate the assumptions and methods of network meta-analysis and network meta-regression with interactive lectures and practical exercise. In the afternoon we will introduce advanced topics in network meta-analysis, such as the use of individual participant data, component network meta-analysis for composite interventions, and dose-response analysis.

The course is designed for participants who are familiar with meta-analysis and Bayesian statistics. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Understand and assess the assumptions underlying the validity of indirect comparisonsand network meta-analysis
• Estimate the relative treatment effects between any pair of interventions within a network of studies and present them in a transparent way
• Assess and test for inconsistency within a network of interventions
• Formulate a network meta-regression model and interpret the results and output
• Obtain an overview of advanced methods and extensions in network meta-analysis

The practical exercises will be performed in the statistical software R.