Article type
Abstract
Background: With increasing demands on finite resources, evidence-based health care, education, and societal welfare, organizations are required to prioritize. To better meet its vision of improving health for everyone, everywhere, Cochrane spearheaded its first Scientific Strategy in 2023 using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its foundation.
Objectives: To provide recommendations on how organizations producing systematic reviews can approach prioritization using the SDGs.
Methods: We mapped the world’s most critical global needs using relevant SDGs. Following an initial consultation, we expanded the mapping to the Global Burden of Disease, disability-adjusted life-years, and social/commercial determinants of health.
We designed a scientific strategy that focused on areas of substantial impact alongside a supporting structure that encouraged diverse evidence syntheses.
Lessons Learned: Our comprehensive health map included over 50 health topics that we categorized into six areas. The broad scope of our international health priority mapping in addition to our limited resources made the application of traditional priority setting processes difficult. Wide internal and external consultation enabled the selection of our key priority areas of global importance across low-, middle-, and high-income settings.
Identification of the aforementioned focused areas of substantial impact highlighted a necessity to simultaneously consider broader commitments required to support the work. We identified four commitments that will facilitate our vision:
•Innovation in methods and AI
•Promote health equity
•Partner globally
•Be trusted and transparent
To enable us to be agile to the ever-changing global health needs and diverse in our content, we continue to publish and support all reviews that meet Cochrane’s vision and mission. We will seek funding for suites of reviews developed in collaboration with our partners in our key priority areas. We will offer extra support to reviews, when needed, to enhance our four commitments.
Recommendations: We are excited to share the results of this strategy that will help Cochrane meet the most critical health needs worldwide and close the health equity gap. Sharing our process in developing this strategy will support others who strive to enhance evidence generation and synthesis in the context of the SDGs.
Objectives: To provide recommendations on how organizations producing systematic reviews can approach prioritization using the SDGs.
Methods: We mapped the world’s most critical global needs using relevant SDGs. Following an initial consultation, we expanded the mapping to the Global Burden of Disease, disability-adjusted life-years, and social/commercial determinants of health.
We designed a scientific strategy that focused on areas of substantial impact alongside a supporting structure that encouraged diverse evidence syntheses.
Lessons Learned: Our comprehensive health map included over 50 health topics that we categorized into six areas. The broad scope of our international health priority mapping in addition to our limited resources made the application of traditional priority setting processes difficult. Wide internal and external consultation enabled the selection of our key priority areas of global importance across low-, middle-, and high-income settings.
Identification of the aforementioned focused areas of substantial impact highlighted a necessity to simultaneously consider broader commitments required to support the work. We identified four commitments that will facilitate our vision:
•Innovation in methods and AI
•Promote health equity
•Partner globally
•Be trusted and transparent
To enable us to be agile to the ever-changing global health needs and diverse in our content, we continue to publish and support all reviews that meet Cochrane’s vision and mission. We will seek funding for suites of reviews developed in collaboration with our partners in our key priority areas. We will offer extra support to reviews, when needed, to enhance our four commitments.
Recommendations: We are excited to share the results of this strategy that will help Cochrane meet the most critical health needs worldwide and close the health equity gap. Sharing our process in developing this strategy will support others who strive to enhance evidence generation and synthesis in the context of the SDGs.