Objectives: This interactive and participative workshop is designed and led by people who work in Cochrane Review Groups (CRGs), and by consumers. It is open to all those who presently work with consumers in Review Groups, and who would like to involve consumers more, and to consumers themselves. The workshop will: 1) hear from Review Groups and from consumers about their experiences of consumer involvement; and 2) identify good practice in the involvement of consumers, identify barriers and opportunities and prioritise the range of support needed to remove them.
Description: The recent study of the involvement of consumers in Review Groups, initiated by the Cochrane Consumer Network (CCNet), revealed a wide diversity of practice across the network.There are barriers to the effective involvement of consumers, from a shortage of resources within CRGs, difficulty in recruiting consumers, training and support, to identifying workable models of good practice. This workshop will hear from a number of CRGs about innovative work that they are doing, and also about difficulties that they face, and from consumers about their experiences of involvement and endeavour to identify good practice in the involvement of consumers, barriers and opportunities and to prioritise the range of support needed to remove them.