Background: It was necessary for the Cochrane Oral Health Group (Cochrane OHG) to identify the most clinically important titles to maintain on the Cochrane Library, due to limited capacity and funding restraints. This will enable us also to fulfill the first two goals of the Cochrane Strategy to 2020 by producing high quality, useful, accessible evidence.
Objectives: To identify a core portfolio of priority reviews for maintenance by Cochrane OHG.
Methods: We categorised 234 registered titles into eight defined areas of dentistry: periodontology, operative (including endodontics) and prosthodontics, paediatric dentistry, dental public health, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine, orthodontics, cleft lip and/or palate. Active authors of Cochrane OHG’s reviews in each area were invited to rank their ‘top 10’ titles of clinical importance for that area. A brief online public consultation survey captured the oral concerns of 81 people (from 15 countries, across five continents) to inform the decision-making process. Authors’ initial pooled rankings and results of the public survey were presented to an international clinical expert panel for each area of dentistry (eight panels, totalling 133 members) for discussion. This was possible due to the financial support of the Global Alliance, who also provided networks for accessing clinical experts.
Results: The process successfully identified a core portfolio of 96 reviews to be considered a priority for Cochrane OHG, 15 of which are new titles for registration. (See Figure 1). The Cochrane OHG is rationalising and expanding the scope of some reviews where appropriate.
Conclusions: The prioritisation process successfully accomplished its objective, and the resulting core portfolio will be subject to revision periodically to ensure we produce easily accessed, high quality, important reviews. The next exercise is scheduled for 2017, when Cochrane OHG will use the same methods as the previous process, but will ensure a broader public survey period.