Information needs and priority setting for Cochrane Insurance Medicine (CIM):an international stakeholder survey

Article type
Year
Authors
Weida R1, Schaafsma F2, Ullmann-Kurz K1, Kunz R1, von Allmen D1, Busse JW3, Brouwer S4, Alexanderson K5, de Boer W1, Hoving J6
1asim Research and Education, Department of Clinical Research, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
2VU University Medical Center, The Netherlands
3McMaster, Canada
4University Medical Centre Groningen, Switzerland
5Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
6University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract
Background: In line with Cochrane’s Strategy to 2020, and as a new Cochrane Field located in four countries, we need to learn more about the information needs of our international stakeholders. We need to accommodate our priorities to their information needs and provide tailored products for their work in areas such as disability evaluation, assessment of risks and prognosis, and return to work.

Objectives: To perform an online survey to determine the current use of scientific information among professionals in insurance medicine (IM), their information retrieval behaviour, familiarity with evidence-based medicine (EBM), Cochrane, and information needs arising from their daily work.

Methods: CIM-members with different backgrounds in IM from all member countries determined the focus of the survey and drafted questions based on Cochrane, EBM, and typical IM topics. The most appropriate questions were selected after consensus for the final survey. A preliminary version of the survey was tested at the 2015 Dutch International Congress on Insurance Medicine. The final survey was piloted among IM professionals from all countries in which the survey was anticipated to run, and refined according to feedback, resulting in a 26-item questionnaire with free-text options. We will disseminate the survey through two international networks: EUMASS (European Union of Medicine in Assurance and Social Security) and ICLAM (International Committee for Insurance Medicine, worldwide), and self-selected national organisations (e.g. German national pension scheme; The Finnish Social Insurance Institute). We anticipate completion of the survey in mid-July 2016.

Results: We will present the results of our survey at the 2016 Cochrane Colloquium in Seoul.

Conclusions: We expect to understand the pattern of evidence-seeking behaviour of our audience better, and the factors enabling and hindering the use of information. We will learn about medical areas and topics for which stakeholders require more and/or better evidence, and stakeholders’ familiarity with and their expectations regarding Cochrane.