Clinical intervention studies of orofacial motricity: an analysis of the methodological quality of brazilian studies

ABSTRACT Purpose: to evaluate the methodological quality of clinical trials published in Brazilian journals. Methods: four trained independent researchers conducted a systematic literature search of all Brazilian speech therapy-related journals over the last ten years, whether the journals were active or inactive. All journal volumes published during that period were selected, and each researcher conducted an individual analysis to identify articles that focused primarily on orofacial motricity. The tools used were the Downs and Black Quality Checklist and the Jadad scale. Results: after the studies were selected and categorized, the final sample comprised six articles, all of which were classified as clinical trials. The observed methodological limitations included a lack of sample planning, randomization and blinding. Mean scores of 16.3 points on the Downs and Black Quality Checklist and 2.3 on the Jadad scale were obtained. Conclusion: the randomized controlled trials in the area of orofacial motricity are scarce in Brazilian literature, suggesting that studies in this area adopting this research design should be expanded and their quality should be improved to promote clinical practice based on scientific evidence.