A new resource in the enhanced Cochrane Library: Cochrane Clinical Answers

Session: 

Oral session: Knowledge translation and communicating evidence (3)

Date: 

Sunday 16 September 2018 - 17:10 to 17:20

Location: 

Pentland Auditorium

All authors in correct order:

Tort S1, Burch J1, Pettersen K2
1 Cochrane Editorial & Methods Department, United Kingdom
2 Wiley, United Kindom
Presenting author and contact person

Presenting author:

Sera Tort

Contact person:

Sera Tort
Jane Burch
Karen Pettersen
Abstract text
Background:
Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs) are an important tool for making the results from Cochrane Reviews accessible and usable at the point of care. They are evidence-based answers to the clinical questions addressed by Cochrane Reviews, covering a wide range of topics, and aimed primarily at clinicians and other healthcare professionals. Their numbers are progressively increasing, with 1550 published at the start of 2018 (i.e. around 20% of the Cochrane Reviews on the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews). The Cochrane Library has recently been enhanced to improve the user experience. CCAs are now one of the databases available with the Cochrane Library, which links all Cochrane content and provides better access and visibility of the extensive knowledge contained within this resource.

Objectives:
To describe how CCAs are integrated into the Cochrane Library: how they are displayed, their search functionality, links with related content and additional features. The session will also cover how the content across CCAs and Cochrane Reviews is linked.

Conclusions:
CCAs are a valuable knowledge translation tool, offering short summaries of the evidence presented in Cochrane Reviews using non-statistical, but technical language. They target the healthcare professional audience and aim to facilitate decision making at the point of care. Being integrated into the enhanced Cochrane Library is a further step towards making Cochrane the ‘home of evidence’, one of the Cochrane’s Strategy to 2020 goals.

Patient or healthcare consumer involvement:
No patient or healthcare consumer has been involved with CCAs so far. However, we welcome them to the session to have their feedback about this knowledge translation tool and discuss their possible involvement in the production of CCAs.

Relevance to patients and consumers: 

Cochrane Clinical Answers are primarily aimed at clinicians and other healthcare professionals, but by making results from Cochrane Reviews more accessible and facilitating decision making at the point of care, patients will likely benefit from them in terms of improvement in their health care.