Article type
Year
Abstract
Background:
It is imperative to analyse the growth of The Cochrane Collaboration in India in order to plan further capacity building.
Objectives:
To map and analyse the growth of The Cochrane Collaboration in India.
Methods:
Data were retrieved in February 2014 using the advanced search option in The Cochrane Collaboration’s Archie database using the term “India” in the country field. Data were analysed for Indian contributors, including their institution or organisation, state, primary Cochrane Group, year of joining Cochrane, and type of organisation (i.e. government, non-profit, independent, private-for-profit, pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturer).
Results:
Of 902 individuals retrieved, 30 had their contact details hidden and 84 were not from India, and were thus excluded from the analysis. The remaining 788 Cochrane contributors from 24 Indian states or union territories were included in the analysis. Tamil Nadu had the highest number of contributors (181; 23%), followed by Delhi (147; 19%) and Karnataka (123; 16%). Contributors were typically concentrated in institutions that hosted the network sites of the South Asian Cochrane Network and Centre (SACNC), together accounting for 301 contributors (38% of total). Most contributors were from government institutions (279; 35%) followed by private (218; 28%) and non-profit organisations (171; 22%). There were five contributors (0.6%) with current pharmaceutical or medical device company affiliations, although only one has been involved in authoring a Cochrane review. The time trends for Cochrane’s growth in India are shown in Figure 1. The regional spread of Cochrane’s growth in India pre and post 2007 is shown in Figure 2. A total of 60 Cochrane groups have contributors from India.
Conclusions:
The national subscription to The Cochrane Library by the Indian Council of Medical Research in 2007 had a positive impact. Strategies to increase participation beyond SACNC network sites, as well as increasing the number of network sites, is needed in order to promote diversity and spread Cochrane beyond leading, well-funded academic institutions of India.
It is imperative to analyse the growth of The Cochrane Collaboration in India in order to plan further capacity building.
Objectives:
To map and analyse the growth of The Cochrane Collaboration in India.
Methods:
Data were retrieved in February 2014 using the advanced search option in The Cochrane Collaboration’s Archie database using the term “India” in the country field. Data were analysed for Indian contributors, including their institution or organisation, state, primary Cochrane Group, year of joining Cochrane, and type of organisation (i.e. government, non-profit, independent, private-for-profit, pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturer).
Results:
Of 902 individuals retrieved, 30 had their contact details hidden and 84 were not from India, and were thus excluded from the analysis. The remaining 788 Cochrane contributors from 24 Indian states or union territories were included in the analysis. Tamil Nadu had the highest number of contributors (181; 23%), followed by Delhi (147; 19%) and Karnataka (123; 16%). Contributors were typically concentrated in institutions that hosted the network sites of the South Asian Cochrane Network and Centre (SACNC), together accounting for 301 contributors (38% of total). Most contributors were from government institutions (279; 35%) followed by private (218; 28%) and non-profit organisations (171; 22%). There were five contributors (0.6%) with current pharmaceutical or medical device company affiliations, although only one has been involved in authoring a Cochrane review. The time trends for Cochrane’s growth in India are shown in Figure 1. The regional spread of Cochrane’s growth in India pre and post 2007 is shown in Figure 2. A total of 60 Cochrane groups have contributors from India.
Conclusions:
The national subscription to The Cochrane Library by the Indian Council of Medical Research in 2007 had a positive impact. Strategies to increase participation beyond SACNC network sites, as well as increasing the number of network sites, is needed in order to promote diversity and spread Cochrane beyond leading, well-funded academic institutions of India.