Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: The Cochrane Collaboration was formally launched as an international, non-profit organization in Oxford, England in 1993. From the beginning there have been many collaborators located in the US, Australia, and Canada. However, awareness of the Cochrane Collaboration is perceived as being low in the US compared to other English-speaking countries.
Objectives: To review English-language newspapers in order to observe any changes in the number of mentions of the Cochrane Collaboration and its activities over time; to identify the proportion of mentions from each of the major English-speaking countries; and to identify the topics that are most frequently mentioned in English-language newspapers.
Methods: In February 2004, we performed electronic LexisNexis searches for mentions of the Cochrane Collaboration in English-language newspapers for the years 1993 through 2003. The search was conducted in the US News Group File and the non-US News Group File of LexisNexis . The US News Group File contains the full text of 210 US English-language newspapers, and the non-US News Group File contains the full text of 180 non-US English-language newspapers. We reviewed each retrieved citation in order to confirm that it was a reference to Cochrane, to eliminate duplicate citations, to identify the country of publication, and to identify the topic of the news story.
Results: The number of general mentions of Cochrane activities was relatively steady over the period from 1995 to 2003 but the number of mentions of Cochrane reviews increased in 2000 concurrently with the mammography screening review and remained high thereafter. Because of this increase in the number of mentions of Cochrane reviews, the total number of mentions of Cochrane in English-language newspapers increased dramatically during 2000-2003. The English-speaking countries with the most Cochrane news mentions were: the UK in 1998 (9/14), 1999 (18/28) and 2000 (51/65); Australia in 1997 (9/14); Canada in 2001 (23/47); and the US in 2002 (31/38) and 2003 (26/46). Non-US English-language mentions were more likely to be general references, while US English-language mentions were almost exclusively of Cochrane reviews.
Conclusions: The total number of Cochrane mentions in the English-language newspapers increased markedly in 2000, primarily because of increased mentions of Cochrane reviews. The persistently low number of general references to Cochrane in US newspapers may reflect that general awareness of the Cochrane Collaboration is low in the US. Increasing US awareness of Cochrane activities is a goal of the US Cochrane Center.
Objectives: To review English-language newspapers in order to observe any changes in the number of mentions of the Cochrane Collaboration and its activities over time; to identify the proportion of mentions from each of the major English-speaking countries; and to identify the topics that are most frequently mentioned in English-language newspapers.
Methods: In February 2004, we performed electronic LexisNexis searches for mentions of the Cochrane Collaboration in English-language newspapers for the years 1993 through 2003. The search was conducted in the US News Group File and the non-US News Group File of LexisNexis . The US News Group File contains the full text of 210 US English-language newspapers, and the non-US News Group File contains the full text of 180 non-US English-language newspapers. We reviewed each retrieved citation in order to confirm that it was a reference to Cochrane, to eliminate duplicate citations, to identify the country of publication, and to identify the topic of the news story.
Results: The number of general mentions of Cochrane activities was relatively steady over the period from 1995 to 2003 but the number of mentions of Cochrane reviews increased in 2000 concurrently with the mammography screening review and remained high thereafter. Because of this increase in the number of mentions of Cochrane reviews, the total number of mentions of Cochrane in English-language newspapers increased dramatically during 2000-2003. The English-speaking countries with the most Cochrane news mentions were: the UK in 1998 (9/14), 1999 (18/28) and 2000 (51/65); Australia in 1997 (9/14); Canada in 2001 (23/47); and the US in 2002 (31/38) and 2003 (26/46). Non-US English-language mentions were more likely to be general references, while US English-language mentions were almost exclusively of Cochrane reviews.
Conclusions: The total number of Cochrane mentions in the English-language newspapers increased markedly in 2000, primarily because of increased mentions of Cochrane reviews. The persistently low number of general references to Cochrane in US newspapers may reflect that general awareness of the Cochrane Collaboration is low in the US. Increasing US awareness of Cochrane activities is a goal of the US Cochrane Center.