Evidence overviews: prioritising areas for overviews of systematic reviews of interventions for effective communication with and participation by consumers

Article type
Authors
Ryan R, Hill S
Abstract
Objectives: The Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group has prepared an overview, or reviews of reviews, which synthesises the evidence from systematic reviews examining the effects of interventions to improve communication with, and ensure the participation of, consumers in their health care. It includes only those reviews published by the Review Group. This workshop aims to develop a set of priorities for future overviews to inform policy development and decision making in Australian settings.

Description: An overview of systematic reviews is one method of producing a high-quality synthesised summary of the evidence relevant to decision makers to address questions such as:

-What interventions work on average?

-Who does it work for? Are there particular people for whom the intervention works better or best?

-Do certain versions of the intervention or treatment work better or best? Are certain versions of the intervention ineffective?

Where and with whom is a particular intervention particularly effective or ineffective?
Participants will be asked to assist in selecting key themes for future overviews on interventions to improve communication with and enable participation by patients, to be prepared subsequently by the Review Group. Suggested themes for future overviews to be discussed at the workshop include:

-Being informed, making decisions;

-Consumer participation in health care policy, research, education and evaluation;

-Patient participation in their care in various settings (community, hospital, screening services);

-Information and communication with people with a chronic illness;

Communicating with people regarding public health matters.
We will explore and discuss criteria for selecting themes. Possible criteria may include: gaps between evidence and practice; existing policy processes or infrastructure through which change could be made; need for change; and available evidence. The facilitators of this workshop will explore and discuss the potential uses of the evidence overviews with participants and actively lead the discussion towards the identification of new overview topics.

Target audience: Australian participants in particular, including participants from government, health care, consumer groups and health research.

Style: Discussion workshop