May 2009

Uppermost in the minds of those attending the recent meetings of the Cochrane Collaboration in Copenhagen was the outcome of the Strategic Review. The recommendations of the review cover all aspects of the Collaboration’s purpose, organisation, strategic positioning, outputs, processes and governance. With Jeremy Grimshaw, head of the review team, playing the role of quarterback or conductor depending on your like or dislike of sporting metaphors, senior members of the Collaboration spent several sessions discussing the implications of the review and strategies for implementing the report’s wide ranging recommendations (further details below).

We are delighted to report that the Department of Health and Ageing has confirmed its continuing support for substantial infrastructure funding to support Cochrane entities in Australia for the next three years. A competitive funding round has just been announced (see below).

Looking ahead, we are heavily involved in supporting our Singaporean colleagues in hosting this year’s Colloquium which will feature many of the themes to emerge from the Strategic Review. It will be the first time that many Cochrane contributors from this region will get to hear David Tovey, the new Editor in Chief of the Cochrane Library, present his vision for the future of the Library. Even further ahead, is the next regional Australasian Cochrane Symposium in Auckland, provisionally booked for 22 March 2010.

Steve McDonald and Sally Green
Co-Directors
Australasian Cochrane Centre


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Funding for Australian-based Cochrane activities from 2009 to 2012

The Department of Health and Ageing has announced the new round of funding grants for Australian-based Cochrane Collaboration activities. Funding is available for three years (1 July 2009 to 30 June 2012) to support both Cochrane Review Groups and other contributing entities to undertake Cochrane systematic reviews in furthering the work and outputs of the Cochrane Collaboration.

Details and all documentation are available from the Department's website. The deadline for receipt of hard copies of applications is 28 May 2009.


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Strategic Review of Cochrane Collaboration report released After a year of extensive consultations, the Recommendations Report for the Strategic Review of The Cochrane Collaboration was published in March. The review, which was led by Jeremy Grimshaw from Canada, was an inclusive assessment of the Collaboration as a whole, looking at purpose, structures, processes, partnerships and governance.

• reaffirming the Collaboration’s primary purpose to be the production of high quality systematic reviews
• improving the usability of the Cochrane Library and other products for diverse stakeholders
• formalising additional purposes, including training, methods developments and advocacy for evidence-based decision making
• developing a marketing and communications strategy to promote external and internal awareness of the value, arguments for and achievements of the Collaboration.

The report is available for downloading from the Strategic Review homepage.


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Highlights from Issue 2 2009 of The Cochrane Library Issue 2 2009 was released in April and contains 89 new and 117 updated Cochrane reviews. A diverse range of research areas are covered in this issue:

• Exercise programmes are an effective option for preventing falls among older people living in the community; there is less evidence at present for the effectiveness of other interventions, such as home safety improvements and vitamin D supplements. [link to review]
• Listening to music may benefit patients who suffer severe stress and anxiety associated with having and undergoing treatment for coronary heart disease. Benefits included a decrease in blood pressure, heart rate and levels of anxiety in heart patients. [review]
• Lying down during the early stages of childbirth may slow progress. The first stage of labour was shorter for women who kneel, stand up, walk around or sit upright as opposed to lying down. [review]
• Three recent African trials support male circumcision for reducing the risk of contracting HIV in heterosexual men. [review]

Podcasts of these reviews plus 80 others published over the last year or so are available from the Cochrane Podcast homepage.

Highlights from Issue 2 are also available in pdf from The Cochrane Library homepage.


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2009 Cochrane Colloquium, Singapore

The Cochrane Colloquium comes to Asia for the first time this October with Singapore hosting this year’s meeting from 11-14 October. Colloquia offer a unique chance to hear about the latest developments in systematic reviews, receive training from some of the world’s leading methodologists and participate in meetings and discussions about the Collaboration’s future.

The recent strategic review of the Collaboration provides an opportunity to explore several issues in greater depth and this year’s plenaries will focus on themes relating to: publishing and the Cochrane Library; methodological complexity in reviews; capacity development and partnerships.

The Colloquium website has all the information you need about registration, where to stay and other practical advice. We hope many of you will take advantage of a close-to-home Colloquium and look forward to welcoming a sizeable Australasian contingent to the tropical climes of Singapore. Please note, the early registration deadline is 13 July.

Steve McDonald, Sally Green and Miranda Cumpston
on behalf of the Local Organising Committee
17th Cochrane Colloquium
Singapore, 11-14 October


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Cochrane Nursing Care Network Congratulations to Alan Pearson and his team at the University of Adelaide for successfully bringing about the registration of the Cochrane Nursing Care Network. This initiative is the result of much careful planning and perseverance over the last few years.

Through an international network of groups involved in nursing care, the new Network aims to increase the reach of the Cochrane Library and support the Collaboration and its role in providing an evidence base for nursing care.

Further information about the Network and its activities can be found on their website.


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Cochrane response to swine flu

The Cochrane website has a new section on influenza in response to the swine flu concerns. All Cochrane reviews relevant to the prevention and treatment of influenza have been brought together and are listed with links to pdfs of the full review. There is also a special podcast and slide presentation featuring Tom Jefferson from the Cochrane Vaccines Field who has authored many of the reviews in this area.

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Centre for Health Communication and Participation

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new Centre for Health Communication and Participation at La Trobe University. The Centre's mission is to improve communication with and participation by consumers and carers, through evidence-informed policy and decision making. It springs from the work of the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group, which is one of the three 'arms' of the new Centre.

The Centre will focus on these key themes in 2009:

• Evidence for different modes of consumer participation
• Communication in circumstances involving a rare disease
• Communication and participation with regard to use of medicines
• Communication in situations of healthcare complexity, such as multimorbidity
• Understanding and communicating the science of evidence-based health care.

 The Centre is led by Dr Sophie Hill: the members of our team are Rebecca Ryan, John Kis-Rigo, Helen Dilkes, Dianne Lowe and Megan Prictor.

Please take a moment to visit our new website. We welcome your feedback and contribution to our work.

Megan Prictor
Coordinator, Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group
Centre for Health Communication and Participation
Australian Institute for Primary Care
La Trobe University Vic 3086


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Round up of Cochrane news

Announcement of new Co-Chair Congratulations to Jonathan Craig who has been selected as the new Co-Chair of the Cochrane Collaboration from October 2009. Jonathan is Head of Clinical Research at the Centre for Kidney Research at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney and Co-ordinating Editor of the Cochrane Renal Group.

2010 Australasian Cochrane Symposium in Auckland In March next year our New Zealand Branch colleagues will be hosting the mid-year meetings of the Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group and Centre Directors. To coincide with these meetings, the next Symposium for Australasian Cochrane contributors will be held (provisionally) in Auckland on 22 March 2010. A host of international and regional speakers will come together to debate issues around the theme of ‘Evidence on Trial’.

Cochrane News
Issue 45 of Cochrane News was published in April. In this issue you’ll find the results of the Cochrane Collaboration Strategic Review and an update on the success of The Cochrane Library podcasts. You can view and download Cochrane News from cochrane.org.

Upcoming Cochrane workshops
To help you through the winter there are Developing a Protocol and Introduction to Analysis workshops taking place in Brisbane (25-26 May), Sydney (25-26 June), Perth (20-21 July) and Adelaide (25-26 August). Further details on the training page of ACC website.




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