The Cochrane Priority Reviews List is a ‘living’ record of Cochrane’s attempt to identify reviews that are of greatest importance to our stakeholders and are likely to impact significantly on health outcomes worldwide. The list is updated in real time as reviews are published and new titles added.

Some of the titles on the list are open to new authors. If you are interested in one of these open titles please contact the relevant Cochrane Review Group before submitting a review proposal:

• Continuous glucose monitoring systems for monitoring CF-related diabetes (Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis & Genetic Disorders)·Interventions for improving adherence to drug therapies and inhalers in people with cystic fibrosis (Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis & Genetic Disorders)
• Psychological interventions for improving adherence to inhaled therapies in people with cystic fibrosis (Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis & Genetic Disorders)                                       
• Interventions for psychosexual dysfunction in women treated for gynaecological malignancy (Cochrane Gynaecological, Neuro-oncology and Orphan Cancers)
• Hormone therapy in women with premature ovarian failure (Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility)
• Interventions for 'poor responders' to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) (Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility)
• Progestagens and antiprogestagens for pain associated with endometriosis (Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility)
• Surgical interventions for the management of chronic pelvic pain in women (Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility) 
• Immunotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (Cochrane Lung Cancer)
• Immunotherapy for small cell lung cancer (Cochrane Lung Cancer)

Please be aware that all other titles on the list have author teams in place.

Ruth Foxlee, Senior Programme Manager, Editorial & Methods Department
Email: rfoxlee@cochrane.org

Together with support from the Umbria Region Health Authority, Perugia, Italy, Cochrane’s Neurological Sciences Field is organizing a four-day Summer School 10-13 September 2019.

The residential course targeted to young physicians and trainees interested in cerebrovascular diseases, aims to present, discuss and appraise key methodological issues encountered in clinical practice with examples in vascular neurology.

Participants will learn to what extent and how methodology sustains clinical practice and the decisions that can be made accordingly, using cerebrovascular diseases as an example.

Discussions on evidence-based medicine (EBM), elements of statistics, and what is needed to appraise evidence will be conducted so that participants will be encouraged to promote clinical EBM research and systematic reviews in their professional activity to manage uncertainty.

After successful completion of the course, participants will bridge the research-practice gap in a context of evidence-based education through:

1.  knowing when and how to screen for particular conditions;
2. having an understanding of how to appraise the evidence from trials and systematic reviews
3. knowing how to read a Cochrane Summary of Findings Table;
4. understanding useful elements about statistics;
5. knowing the current debate on the meaning and role of EBM.

If you are a practitioner, neurologist, healthcare worker, researcher, guideline developer or policy-makers who wants to get more involved in Cochrane methodology and stroke medicine, find out more information and register here: https://neurosciences.cochrane.org/summer-school-2019 or contact Kathryn Mahan, Coordinator, Cochrane Neurological Sciences Field, kmahan@regione.umbria.it

• Find out more about Cochrane’s Neurological Science Field
• Learn about Cochrane’s Knowledge Translation work and supporting health practitioners in the use of synthesized evidence
• See what Cochrane training is happening near you

In this short film, created at the 2019 Cochrane Governance Meetings, we introduce the Cochrane Mental Health and Neuroscience Network.

Cochrane has created eight new Networks of Cochrane Review Groups  responsible for the efficient and timely production of high-quality systematic reviews that address the research questions that are most important to decision makers. This is the first in the series to be released, each network will be presented in a film like this, in the coming weeks.

This film introduces the team, what has happened so far and the ambition for what is to come.

• Learn more about The Mental Health and Neuroscience Network

Cochrane exists so that healthcare decisions get better.’ That is the first sentence of our Strategy to 2020 that aims to put Cochrane evidence at the heart of health decision-making all over the world. Here’s a look back at some key highlights of our work in the first quarter of 2019, from January to March.

Cochrane began preparations for its annual flagship event, Cochrane’s Colloquium in Santiago, Chile 22-25 October, 2019. During this time, many Cochrane contributors submitted abstracts as part of the scientific programme, this year ‘embracing diversity’. We also opened the call for hosts for the second Global Evidence Summit in 2021, a multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural event to exchange ideas about how we best produce, summarize and disseminate evidence to inform policy and practice, and using that evidence to improve people’s lives across the world. 

In Q1 2019, we saw the many ways people are using and accessing our health evidence. An international group of researchers found Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews to be the most referenced health-related journal on Wikipedia. The World Health Organization published guidelines for malaria vector control, drawing on seven Cochrane reviews specially prepared for them by the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group. We also started a new online series that collects stories about how Cochrane evidence is being used - from in the workplace,  in clinical practice, to in everyday life.

We saw our global reach and impact expanded with the Launch of Cochrane Colombia, Cochrane Ireland, a Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth satellite group established in the United States. Cochrane’s status as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in official relations with the World Health Organization was renewed at WHO’s Executive Board meeting in January2019.  We increased our reach with a younger audience, PhD and med students and early-career professionals with the launch of Cochrane on Instagram.  We also delivered training  with eight news Cochane Learning Live webinars attracting 548 attendees.

Cochrane’s Dashboard presents key metrics on our performance in any quarter including information on Strategy to 2020 organizational Target achievements. We use it as an tool to reflect on our accomplishments on a quarterly basis.

Here’s how we did in Quarter 1, 2019:

• See Cochrane’s QI 2019 Dashboard in full
• See our external Q1 2019 highlights
• Learn more about Cochrane Dashboards
• Learn more about Cochrane’s organizational Targets for 2019

We are excited to launch the 2019 Cochrane Author Experience Survey! If you are an author of a published Cochrane Review then please complete this important survey.

Cochrane aspires to have an excellent author experience made up of efficient editorial processes, high quality learning and leading technology. We have invested significantly in all of these areas in recent years, but we know there is still more work to be done, so we want to know what our authors think of the author experience we are creating and where the priorities should be for further development.

The results of this survey will help us to prioritise our future work and they will also influence Cochrane's organisational strategy beyond 2020.

We believe that honest feedback is important to help improve the experience for all Cochrane authors, so your name will not be collected.

If you are a published Cochrane Author, please take 15 minutes to complete the survey by Friday 12 July.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DQMXFP

We will review the answers and report back at the upcoming 2019 Cochrane Colloquium and through our other author communication channels.

Thank you for your time!

Karla Soares-Weiser
Editor in Chief, Cochrane Library

Chris Champion
Head of Membership, Learning and Support Services

This Friday (31st May, 2019) will mark my final day as your Editor in Chief. I want to express my gratitude to you all for your forbearance, support, challenge and friendship over these past 10 years. Believe me when I say that having the privilege of serving you all has been the highlight of my working life. Life has never been easy, but I have learned such a great deal from you, had experiences I couldn’t have imagined, and found myself stretched (in a good way) every day.

I wish you all, and Cochrane, every success in the coming years, and hope to continue to contribute in different ways. I leave you in the excellent hands of Karla Soares-Weiser who has been a fantastic deputy and will be an even better leader. She will be fully supported by the other members of the Editorial and Methods team, who have all at various times provided me with inspiration, rescued me from danger and have simply been a joy to lead.

I have been lucky to have had the support of some wise and inspiring Co-Chairs, Steering Groups and the Governing Board. I owe particular thanks to Cochrane’s Chief Executive Officers, Nick Royle and Mark Wilson, my colleagues on the Senior Management Team, and the wider Central Executive Teams. I have enjoyed working with the various representative groups across the Editorial and Methods communities, and the new Editorial Board and Scientific Committee. The members of the Cochrane Library Oversight Committee have quietly provided guidance and wise counsel.

I want to finish by repeating my debt to all those of you who toil at Cochrane’s coalface as authors, editors, peer reviewers, information specialists and so on. If Cochrane handed out 200 Chris Silagy prizes every year, it would still not be possible to reward all of those who have earned it. You are the true heart of Cochrane, and I will join your number now with pride.

David Tovey

• Read the Cochrane Library Editorial: Reflection on 10 years as Cochrane's Editor in Chief

We are delighted to announce that Dr Christopher Bunt, MD, FAAFP has been appointed as the inaugural Editor in Chief of Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs), reporting to Karla Soares-Weiser, Editor in Chief of Cochrane. Chris has been a practicing Family Medicine physician in the US since 2004 and has recently added Medical Acupuncture to his clinical duties. Chris has also been a Clinician-Educator since 2007, focusing on teaching and designing evidence-based medicine curricula for interprofessional students, residents and faculty colleagues. Chris has worked with the CCA team as an Associate Editor since 2012, writing 56 CCAs. He also has extensive editorial experience as a Contributing Editor for American Family Physician, the largest primary care journal in the US, since 2016.

CCAs form a key strand of Cochrane’s Knowledge Translation strategy, providing concise, evidence-based answers to Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) clinical questions based on Cochrane Reviews. The product was developed in partnership between Cochrane and Wiley and in 2018 became part of the suite of databases available to all Cochrane Library subscribers. The Editor in Chief of CCAs is a new honorary role that has been created to oversee the development and implementation of editorial policies for CCAs, guide editorial strategy decisions and ensure the quality of CCA content.

We are thrilled to welcome Chris to the team; we are convinced that he will be a great asset to Cochrane and will be instrumental in the development and future strategy of CCAs. Karla also welcomes Chris’ appointment: “We are excited to welcome Chris into this new post. We look forward to working with him to further develop CCAs and reach out to clinical communities around the world to promote the use of this important Cochrane resource”. And Chris highlights: “CCAs are the ‘point-of-care home’ for busy clinicians. I am thrilled to continue to work with the CCA team as we further evidence-based medicine practice around the world.”   

Chris is currently the Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. He will be contributing two days a month as Editor in Chief of Cochrane Clinical Answers. He can be reached at cbunt@cochrane.org.

• Read a sample of Cochrane Clinical Answers

The Cochrane Rapid Review Methods Group is leading an important piece of methodological research and need your help.

Does it make a difference whether abstracts are screened by one or two people to find relevant studies for a systematic review? How many relevant studies will be missed when abstracts are reviewed by only one person? Can the Cochrane RCT-classifier, a machine-learning tool for classifying RCTs and the Cochrane Crowd, do this accurately? The Cochrane Rapid Review Methods Group and the Cochrane Crowd Team have developed a study to try to answer these questions.

The study is made up of three ‘arms’ – three different groups that participants to the study could be assigned to. If you already have experience screening search results for a review, you will be randomly assigned to review a set of 100 abstracts and classify them as "Relevant" or "Not Relevant" to a particular research question from a search for either a pharmacological review or for a public health review. If you have no experience screening for reviews, you will be assigned to the "Crowd" arm where you can screen as many records as you like for the pharmacological review.

More details about the study can be found here.

We are looking for participants:

• with and without experience of screening search results for a review
• willing to spend around 2 to 3 hours screening 100 abstracts over the next three weeks
• over 18 years of age

To join, just follow these 4 steps:

1. If you don't have a Cochrane Crowd account yet, register here first and continue with step 2. If you already have a Cochrane Crowd account, you can go straight to step 2:
2. Click on this link that will launch the brief participant questionnaire
3. Once you have completed the questionnaire, log in to Cochrane Crowd as usual
4. Near the top of your task dashboard you will see the task called Rapid, Rapid, Rapid. This is the task you will have been randomly assigned to. Complete the training and get screening your 100 records!

You don’t have to screen all 100 records in one go. We will keep the study running until Friday 14th June so there should be plenty of time for you to chip away at your 100 records.

If you are able to take part, you will be named on a conference poster about the study at the Cochrane Colloquium, receive a certificate of participation, and enter a prize draw for one of five gift vouchers worth $100.

Happy citation screening!

Bill Silverman Prize

The Bill Silverman Prize is offered annually and explicitly acknowledges Cochrane's value of criticism, with a view to helping to improve its work, and thus achieve its aim of helping people make well-informed decisions about health care by providing the best possible evidence on the effects of healthcare interventions. The Cochrane Steering Group approved the establishment of the Prize in 2007, and it was awarded for the first time in 2008.

Purpose

Please note that this Prize is not for the preparation of a Cochrane Review; rather, it is for a published paper which demonstrates originality and critical thinking, either in evaluating any aspect of the preparation, maintenance or dissemination of Cochrane Reviews or about the work of Cochrane more generally. It should be of high quality, have been accompanied by constructive suggestions on how the relevant aspects of Cochrane’s work could be improved; and have had, or is likely to have, a positive impact on the scientific quality, relevance and use of Cochrane Reviews.

Eligibility

Peer-reviewed papers that fulfil the criteria described above under ‘Purpose’, and were published in the twelve-month period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 are eligible for nomination in 2019. 

Nomination process and deadline

The Central Executive Team issues the call for nominations via Cochrane’s mailing lists each year. Nominations can be made by anyone, including the authors of the publication being nominated. Completed nomination forms and a copy of the paper should be sent to Lydia Parsonson at lparsonson@cochrane.org with “Bill Silverman Prize” in the subject heading. The deadline for receipt of nominations is 2 August 2019.

To find out how to apply for the Bill Silverman Prize, visit https://colloquium2019.cochrane.org/bill-silverman-prize

Cochrane Australia Research Fellow and Co-Convenor of the Cochrane Bias Methods Group Matthew Page took out 2018’s Bill Silverman Prize, which recognises and celebrates the role of constructive criticism of Cochrane and its work. Here we catch up with Matthew about who and what inspired him to research and publish his prize-winning paper on common statistical flaws in systematic reviews. (Originally posted on the Cochrane Australia website)

Just under a decade ago, Matthew Page was a newcomer to Cochrane. Attending his first Colloquium in Singapore in 2009, he watched Dr David Moher take out the Bill Silverman Prize and as a result, first discovered methodological research. ‘You could say that was  kind of a lightbulb moment that led to all my future research interests,’ Matthew says. ‘I listened to David at the Colloquium and immediately went home, read his paper and realised there’s a whole community out there, a whole field that’s actually all about trying to improve research. Since then, David has become my mentor/methodological hero and we’ve been working together on all kinds of fascinating areas. So it seems really fitting to receive this award for a paper I worked on with both David and the late Doug Altman – another extremely inspiring and brilliant statistician who’s influenced my thinking about methods and meta-analysis.’ 

‘This particular paper was actually Doug’s brainchild. He - like Bill Silverman himself - often bemoaned the poor quality of published medical research. He strongly believed self-criticism can help drive progress, which is what this award is all about,’ Matthew explains. ‘Following a paper we published on reporting quality of systematic reviews in PLOS Medicine in 2016, Doug guided us to conduct this comprehensive analysis of the misuse of statistics in systematic reviews. We looked at a range of different statistical methods which could be used in systematic reviews and assessed whether they were applied and interpreted correctly in 32 Cochrane and 78 non-Cochrane reviews. Using a 61-item checklist, we discovered that there were common flaws in many Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews. Our findings suggest many areas where Cochrane review authors can lift their game.’ 

‘By identifying these flaws, we can gain a much better idea of which statistical methods need checking in submitted Cochrane reviews. We’re hoping to address the issues we identify by developing a checklist that can be used by editors to evaluate the statistics in submitted Cochrane reviews. Once errors are spotted, these can be fed back to the review authors and corrected, which we hope will ultimately lead to higher quality reviews. You could say that these findings probably confirm suspicions that the involvement of statisticians on review teams can really help to address a lot of methodological shortcomings.’

‘So for me personally it was great to be able to identify and address areas for improvement in the future and ultimately receive the honour of this award for doing so,’ Matthew concludes. ‘I think the prize is also further recognition of Doug Altman’s phenomenal contribution to Cochrane and evidence-based medicine. And it also gave us yet another reason to celebrate David Moher, whose work was recognised in a half day symposium at the Colloquium this year. We are both looking forward to doing further work in this area to help authors and editors wrangling with all sorts of methodological questions and approaches.’   

For more on Matthew’s work into systematic review methods, read his interview with Cochrane Senior Editor Toby Lasserson on Assessing the current state of systematic reviews, his Epidemiology and Reporting Characteristics of Systematic Reviews of Biomedical Research: A Cross-Sectional Study in PLOS Medicine or follow him on twitter @mjpages. 

To find out how to apply for the Bill Silverman Prize, visit https://colloquium2019.cochrane.org/bill-silverman-prize

Top Image: Prof David Henry (left), 2017 Prize winner, presents Matthew with 2018's Bill Silverman Prize at the Cochrane Colloquium in Edinburgh

Cochrane Sweden is celebrating their 2nd anniversary. The Centre was established on the 16th May 2017 and is located in the city of Lund. It is affiliated with the Department of Research & Development / Section for HTA Analysis, Skåne University Hospital, in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University and with the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen led by Karsten Juhl Jørgensen.

Over the last two years, Cochrane Sweden has been busy promoting-evidence based decision making in healthcare in Sweden. Some accomplishments, so far, have been providing learning tools on how to conduct, edit and read systematic reviews. This has led to Cochrane Interactive Learning being a part of the curriculum at the Medical Faculty at Lund University. The Centre is also actively working with key stakeholders across Sweden to assist in the use of Cochrane reviews in research and practice. Matteo Bruschettini along with his colleague Minna Johansson, and in collaboration with Cochrane Norway and Cochrane Nordic, have been touring the country giving talks at conferences and hosting workshops and seminars about Cochrane.

 More recently, the Director and the Communications Consultant of Cochrane Sweden, Matteo Bruschettini and Dina Muscat Meng, have spearheaded an initiative to support anyone interested in learning about our efforts at Cochrane to have the opportunity to participate in an international exchange programme, which has been named The Cochrane International Mobility Programme. So far, the Centre has already arranged 5 exchange experiences for people interested in learning more about Cochrane evidence at Cochrane Sweden with other centres and groups in Cochrane.

Matteo Bruschettini, Director of Cochrane Sweden, says: "Two years ago, we could not expect such a positive and immediate response to the establishment of a Cochrane Centre in Sweden. Despite a huge delay compared to the other Scandinavian countries and the lack of a national subscription to the Cochrane Library, our workshops and courses have been attended by so many enthusiastic people. Moreover, we’re working at full speed, with junior and senior researchers visiting our Centre and contributing to relevant studies (a few to be published in 2019). We’re very grateful to professor Ingemar Petersson, Head of Research at the University Hospital in Lund, for his wise and generous support. In addition, we aim to further expand the successful and strategic collaboration with the Cochrane Centres in Norway and Denmark and to facilitate the launch of a new Cochrane Field in Sweden."

• Visit the Cochrane Sweden website
• Learn more about the International Mobility Programme