The Cochrane Collaboration has relaunched their new and improved blog called
Evidently Cochrane! After blogging about over 200 Cochrane reviews during the last eighteen months, the blog has proven very popular gaining a wide and growing audience. I think you will agree that the engaging and colorful format draws you in, in a manner similar to
Pintrest!
But what are Cochrane reviews?
"Cochrane Reviews are systematic reviews of primary research in human health care and health policy, and are internationally recognized as the highest standard in evidence-based health care. They investigate the effects of interventions for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. They also assess the accuracy of a diagnostic test for a given condition in a specific patient group and setting. They are
published online in The Cochrane Library."
Here are UMHS in St. Kitts we have access to The Cochrane Library through the
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the
Cochrane Virtual Health Library (VHL).
Learn more about
Evidently Cochrane: Sharing Health Evidence You Can Trust by clicking on the embedded link and enjoy the blog!
Learn more about Cochrane and systematic reviews by trying out these
learning modules which illustrate real life dementia research examples.
Labels: blogs, Cochrane Collaboration, Cochrane Library, Cochrane Systematic Reviews, evidence-based medicine, medical blog, systematic reviews
The COMET Initiative Works to Improve the Potential Power of Healthcare Research
The Cochrane Library has just published [April 2012, Issue #4] an interesting editorial entitled:
The COMET (Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials) Initiative: its role in improving Cochrane Reviews, by Paula Williamson & Mike Clarke.
To find out more – read
the complete Editorial here.
"When people making decisions about health care look for guidance from research, the outcomes reported by that research are key; however, there is a general lack of consensus regarding the choice of outcomes in particular clinical settings, which affects trial design, conduct, analysis, and reporting. Measuring outcomes that will not change healthcare decisions leads to a waste of resources and a failure to capitalize on the potential power of research to improve health care and health..."
Labels: Cochrane Systematic Reviews, COMET, healthcare research, knowledge translation, medical research, reviews of effectiveness
Have you been looking to join a journal club? Do you want to do more for your journal club but are restrained by time? I invite you to consider what the
Cochrane Journal Club offers to members:
"The Cochrane Journal Club is a free, monthly publication that introduces a recent Cochrane review, together with relevant background information, a podcast explaining the key points of the review, discussion questions to help you to explore the review methods and findings in more detail, and downloadable PowerPoint slides containing key figures and tables. You can even contact the review authors with your questions."
The
latest issue #21 discusses
"Selenium for preventing cancer". Labels: cancer prevention, Cochrane Collaboration, Cochrane Journal Club, Cochrane Systematic Reviews, evidence-based medicine, evidence-based practice, journal clubs, selenium, systematic reviews
"
PEARLS are succinct summaries of
Cochrane Systematic Reviews for primary care practitioners – developed by the Cochrane Primary Care Field, New Zealand Branch of the Australasian Cochrane Centre at the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland and funded by the
New Zealand Guidelines Group.
PEARLS provide guidance on whether a treatment is effective or ineffective. PEARLS are prepared as an educational resource and do not replace clinician judgment in the management of individual cases."
Labels: case studies, Cochrane Systematic Reviews, evidence-based medicine, New Zealand Guidelines Group, PEARLS, primary care
