Library of risk of bias tools

AQUA

Study design(s) targeted by the tool Observational studies (mixed designs)observational-studies Case-controlcase-control-study Cross-sectional studiescross-sectional-study
Additional details on designs NA
Tool area Health; Anatomical
Link to the tool Get the AQUA tool

Details

Website
Primary publication Henry BM, Tomaszewski KA, Ramakrishnan PK, Roy J, Vikse J, Loukas M, Tubbs RS, Walocha JA. Development of the anatomical quality assessment (AQUA) tool for the quality assessment of anatomical studies included in meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Clin Anat. 2017 Jan;30(1):6-13.
DOI 10.1002/ca.2279
Guidance document
Training

None known – please contact us if you are aware of any evaluations that should be listed here

Language English
Translations

Polish translation mentioned. No others known – please contact us if you are aware of any translations that should be listed here.

Record last updated 03/06/2026

Related tools and Publications

Previous versions

None

Updated versions

None

Related tools

None

Evaluations

None known – please contact us if you are aware of any evaluations that should be listed here.

Other publications

None known – please contact us if you are aware of any publications that should be listed here.

Key Criteria

Focuses on risk of bias, or makes a distinction between items that assess risk of bias and other aspects of study quality No
Offers a method to reach either a domain specific or overall assessment of risk of bias Yes
Tool developed for use across topic areas (i.e. not developed for specific clinical area such as physiotherapy or dentistry) No
Avoids recommending use of summary numerical quality scores Yes