Transcript Newcomer's session - Cochrane Consumer Network (CCNET)

The Cochrane Collaboration and South
African Cochrane Centre (SACC)
Godwin N. Aja, MCH, CHES
Department of Health Sciences
Babcock University
Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
A Workshop Presentation at the African Cochrane Contributors Meeting
organized by the South African Cochrane Centre, May 22-29, 2007 at the South
African Medical and Research Council Conference Centre, Cape Town, Republic
of South Africa
The Cochrane Collaboration
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An international organization
Aims to help people make well-informed decisions about health care by:
 Preparing, maintaining, and promoting the accessibility of systematic
reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions.
 Synthesizing healthcare evidence (since 1993)
“It is surely a great criticism of our profession that we have not organized a
critical summary, by specialty or subspecialty, adapted periodically, of all
relevant randomized controlled trials”.
Archie Cochrane, 1979
Brief History
1972
Publication 'Effectiveness and Efficiency: random
reflections on health services'
Oct 1992
'The Cochrane Centre' opens in Oxford, UK.
Pregnancy and Childbirth Group registered
Aug 1993
Formal launch of The Cochrane Collaboration at the
1st Cochrane Colloquium, in Oxford, UK
May 1994
Release of version 1 of RevMan
Apr 1996
The Cochrane Library launched by Update
Software
Feb 2000
Apr 2002
Inaugural meeting of the Campbell Collaboration
The Cochrane Library was made free at the point
of use for access under the HINARI scheme for
developing countries
Cochrane Logo
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Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
Comparing short, inexpensive course of a
corticosteroid with a placebo.
Each horizontal line represents the results of one
trial (the shorter the line, the more certain the
result);
Diamond represents their combined results
Vertical line indicates trials had similar effects
Diamond to the left of the vertical line indicates
treatment studied is beneficial.
The first of these RCTs was reported in 1972.
The principles
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Collaboration
Building on enthusiasm of individuals
Avoiding duplication
Minimizing bias
Keeping up to date
Ensuring relevance
Ensuring access
Continuous quality improvement
Continuity
Enabling wide participation
Cochrane Collaboration
Structure
Collaborative
Review
Groups
Fields
Centres
Steering
Group
The
Consumer
Network
Methods
Groups
Cochrane Centres
Canadian
Nordic
German
UK
Dutch
Italian
Iberoamerican
US
Chinese
Brazilian
South
African
Australasian
CRG structure
Editorial Office
Co-ordinating Editor
Review Group Co-ordinator
Trials Search Co-ordinator
Consumer referees
Editors
Review authors
Statisticians
Internal/External
referees
Contact/feedback
editors
Handsearchers
Web site
South African Cochrane Centre (SACC)
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Part of the international Cochrane Collaboration
The only Cochrane Centre in Africa and serves as
the reference Centre for individuals in the following
African countries:
 Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra
Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania,
Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Website: http://www.mrc.ac.za/cochrane/cochrane.htm
SACC Mission
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To prepare and maintain systematic reviews of the effects of health care
interventions. To promote access to and the use of evidence from
systematic reviews in healthcare decision making throughout sub-Saharan
Africa.
SACC Current Projects
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African Trials Register
Evidence in Action Board Game Evidence-based Practice
Training workshops HIV/AIDS Mentoring Programme
Reviews for Africa Programme (RAP)
Supporting Translation of Evidence into Policy and Practice
(STEPP)
Systematic Review Group Problem-busting Sessions
Cochrane systematic review protocol development and
RevMan workshop