Developing evidence in a responsive approach

Article type
Authors
Becker L, Tugwell P, Oliver S, Hyde C, Thompson Coon J, Whear R, Allen C, Clarke M, Moher D, Nasser M, Welch V, Li T, Crowe S
Abstract
The Cochrane Collaboration aims to help health care providers, policy makers, patients, their advocates and carers make well-informed decisions about health care, by preparing, updating and promoting the accessibility of Cochrane Reviews. The principles underpinning this work focus on how review teams and groups organise themselves to produce and promote systematic reviews. These do not include being responsive to important or urgentuncertainties that stakeholders face. Being responsive includes updating Cochrane reviews on topical issues, adopting methodologiesthat provide better insightsinto the questions stakeholders face or packaging reviews in a more accessible way. We have attempted to address these issues by looking at different aspects of our processes separately e.g. setting priorities for reviews, involving consumers in developing reviews. A more holistic approach would adopt a coherent structure for developing evidence in response to our stakeholders’ uncertainties. This session includes five presentations; the first three provide insight on methods and processes that other organizations have developed to be responsive to the needs of the stakeholders. The two lasts presentations provide an overview how two initiatives in the Cochrane Collaboration attempting to fill this gap: Cochrane Rapid Review response and the Agenda and Priority setting Methods Group. (1) Responsive Evidence Development: a Methodological Approach: Sandy Oliver—EPPI Centre (2) Responsive Evidence Development: a local approach: Chris Hyde, Joanna Thompson Coon, Rebecca Whear—PenCLAHRC (3) Responsive Evidence Development: a global approach: Claire Allen, Mike Clarke—Evidence Aid (4) Cochrane Rapid Reviews: David Moher—Cochrane Bias Methods Group/Cochrane Rapid Reviews workshop group (5) Prioritisation of topics in the Cochrane Collaboration: at the micro, meso and macro level: Mona Nasser, Vivian Welch, Tianjing Li, Sally Crowe–Cochrane Agenda and Priority Setting Methods Group (6) Discussion–‘‘How we can use our existing structures in the Cochrane Collaboration to build up a more responsive approach to evidence development?’’: Chair: David Tovey, Mona Nasser.

Target audience and level of expertise: Members of the Cochrane Collaboration with any level of expertise.