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Abstract
Background: I first met Archie Cochrane in 1972 shortly after the publication of his famous monograph "Effectiveness and Efficiency". Between 1976 and 1981 I shared an office with him working as a research officer in the MRC Epidemiology Unit, Cardiff in South Wales. We stayed in regular contact when I left to study medicine as a mature student and until his death in 1988.
Objectives: To give an objective, affectionate, illustrated account of Archie Cochrane's contribution to medical research including randomized controlled trials and also his observations on primary care.
Methods: The presentation is based on personal recollections, information from the Cochrane Archive and other observations from the Wellcome Witness to Twentieth Century Medicine Seminar (2002) which considered population based research in South Wales.
Results: An overview of Cochrane's 80 publications is presented along with some of his more notable observations and expressions, with illustrations of his survey work in prisoner of war camps and coal mining communities.
Conclusions: Archie Cochrane was a scientist and humanitarian who witnessed the deprivation of the 1930s Britain, 1940s wartime Europe and 1950s industrial South Wales. His desire was for an effective health service that was affordable to the individual and society. The Cochrane Collaboration is, I believe, helping to carry forward that aspiration. I hope that this short presentation will encourage those involved in this work.
Acknowledgements: I am grateful to the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust which provided funding to establish the Cochrane Archive at Llandough hospital, Penrath, South Wales.
References: 1. Thomas H F. Medical research in the Rhondda Valleys. Postgrad Med J. 1999;75:257-259. 2. Thomas H F. Some reactions to Effectiveness and Efficiency. In: Maynard A, Chalmers I, editors. Non-random Reflections on Health Services Research: On the 25th anniversary of Archie Cochrane's Effectiveness and Efficiency. BMJ. 1997; 21-27.
Objectives: To give an objective, affectionate, illustrated account of Archie Cochrane's contribution to medical research including randomized controlled trials and also his observations on primary care.
Methods: The presentation is based on personal recollections, information from the Cochrane Archive and other observations from the Wellcome Witness to Twentieth Century Medicine Seminar (2002) which considered population based research in South Wales.
Results: An overview of Cochrane's 80 publications is presented along with some of his more notable observations and expressions, with illustrations of his survey work in prisoner of war camps and coal mining communities.
Conclusions: Archie Cochrane was a scientist and humanitarian who witnessed the deprivation of the 1930s Britain, 1940s wartime Europe and 1950s industrial South Wales. His desire was for an effective health service that was affordable to the individual and society. The Cochrane Collaboration is, I believe, helping to carry forward that aspiration. I hope that this short presentation will encourage those involved in this work.
Acknowledgements: I am grateful to the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust which provided funding to establish the Cochrane Archive at Llandough hospital, Penrath, South Wales.
References: 1. Thomas H F. Medical research in the Rhondda Valleys. Postgrad Med J. 1999;75:257-259. 2. Thomas H F. Some reactions to Effectiveness and Efficiency. In: Maynard A, Chalmers I, editors. Non-random Reflections on Health Services Research: On the 25th anniversary of Archie Cochrane's Effectiveness and Efficiency. BMJ. 1997; 21-27.