Cochrane Perspective

The Cochrane Collaboration has been in existence since 1993 when a group of  77 enthusiastic individuals met at the first Cochrane Colloquium.  Since that time 3385 reviews and 1768 protocols have been published (as at Issue 1, 2008).  However much work still needs to be done. It is estimated that 10,000 reviews are needed to adequately cover current health care questions. 

Policy makers rely on organisations like The Cochrane Collaboration to provide advice on what systematic reviews need to be done to answer important health care questions. The findings of systematic reviews can also be used to identify health care interventions that work and those that don't work as well as priority areas for future research. We encourage review groups that work within the scope of this project to submit their priority review topics for posting on this site.  

Policy Maker's Perspective 

Systematic reviews can demonstrate important effects of health care.  They can also identify important gaps in existing research because they use a systematic approach to determine if sufficient evidence exists to demonstrate the effects of an intervention. 

The Cochrane Collaboration relies upon feedback from policy makers to help guide the generation of relevant and important reviews.  These reviews may used to inform the development of health policy, to assist with development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines or to inform decision making when setting a research agenda.

We are currently working with the Department to find ways to help identify priority reviews required to inform health policy.

This website is produced and maintained  by the Australasian Cochrane Centre for members of the Evidence-Based Policy Network, Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.