How do I build a Summary of Findings table for a winter-health review?

Build a Summary of Findings table by listing each prespecified outcome, then recording participants, absolute and relative effects, and a GRADE certainty rating for every row, with each cell traceable to an analysis or appraisal record.

GRADE is a systematic approach for rating certainty in systematic reviews and evidence syntheses, and it includes Summary of Findings table guidance and GRADEpro workflows. The GRADE Working Group describes explicit criteria and outcome-level judgements, so certainty is rated for each outcome separately.

1. Fix the outcome list before drafting rows. Use the outcomes prespecified in your review protocol and keep their order consistent with the review. Expected result: a stable row set that reviewers and readers can match to the protocol.
2. Fill the participants column from the included studies contributing to that outcome. Record the number of participants analyzed for the outcome, and note when the analyzed total differs from the number randomized. Expected result: each row shows who the effect estimate is based on.
3. Enter the relative effect from the meta-analysis for that outcome. Cochrane Handbook Chapter 10 covers effect measures, fixed and random effects, and heterogeneity, so state which effect measure and model produced the estimate. Expected result: a relative effect that matches the analysis record.
4. Enter the absolute effect for the same outcome. Derive it from the relative effect and the assumed baseline risk you have documented, and record that baseline assumption alongside the row. Expected result: an absolute effect whose inputs can be traced.
5. Assign a GRADE certainty rating for each outcome using the explicit criteria. Rate certainty at the outcome level and record the reasons for any rating decision. Expected result: a rating such as high, moderate, low, or very low for every row.
6. Cross-check every cell against its source record. Match participants and effects to the analysis output and the certainty rating to the appraisal record. Expected result: a completed table in which each cell traces to a specific record.

Cochrane GRADE Resources and the GRADE Working Group materials support the certainty and table-format steps; Cochrane Handbook Chapter 10 supports the effect-measure and heterogeneity steps.