Last week, Cochrane participated in the 154th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board meeting in Geneva.

The Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified representatives from different Member States, elected for three-year terms. Every January, the Executive Board meets at WHO headquarters to discuss global public health priorities for the year ahead and set the agenda for the World Health Assembly.

In addition to the Executive Board, all Member States and civil society organizations in official relations with WHO, such as Cochrane, are given the opportunity to contribute. This provided our delegation a great platform to advocate for evidence-based health policy. 

The session began with an opening statement by WHO Director-General. He highlighted the key achievements of the previous year, including the landmark decision to include life-changing treatments for multiple sclerosis drugs in the Essential Medicines List, which Cochrane Multiple Sclerosis and Rare Diseases of the CNS played a key role in.

WHO’s 14th General Programme of Work (GPW14) was a major focus of this year’s meeting. GPW14 is a medium-term strategy agreed by Member States and will defines the direction of WHO’s work (including on evidence-based health) for 2025-28, with the goal to promote, provide, and protect health. 

Emma Thompson, Cochrane’s Advocacy and Partnerships Lead, made a statement in front of Member States and WHO’s Director-General, speaking on behalf of Cochrane in applauding the draft GPW’s recognition of WHO’s science and evidence-based leadership, particularly highlighting the importance of high-quality evidence in health decision making. 

In addition to the official planned activities at the Executive Board meeting, Cochrane’s delegation used the opportunity to meet with several different WHO departments to discuss plans for Cochrane’s Scientific Strategy, which is currently in development, and opportunities for our next joint workplan.

Our delegation had many productive conversations with key individuals and teams on how Cochrane and WHO can continue to work together to address global public health priorities in the coming years. Supported by our years of relationship building, collaboration and advocacy, we held meetings with many WHO teams, covering a wide range of portfolios including maternal, newborn and child health; essential medicines; malaria, tropical diseases; nutrition; clinical trials; guidelines; health emergencies; and science. 

Another key highlight of the week was a meeting between Cochrane’s Editor-in-Chief, Dr Karla Soares-Weiser, and the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr Jarbas Barbosa and Dr Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, PAHO Assistant Director. During the meeting, they discussed collaboration between Cochrane and PAHO, which is underpinned by a new memorandum of understanding and Dr Soares-Weiser highlighted Cochrane’s enthusiasm for the formalisation of this partnership.

• Find out more about the 154th session of the Executive Board

Thursday, February 1, 2024 Category: The difference we make

Today marks the official opening of registration for attendance at the second Global Evidence Summit (GES) 2024. Organized by the world’s leading organizations in evidence synthesis and evidence-based practice, including Cochrane, JBI, Guidelines International Network (GIN), and The Campbell Collaboration, the summit is set to take place in the historical city of Prague, Czech Republic, from 10 to 13 September 2024, with satellite meetings on 9 September 2024.

The GES is intended as a multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural event to exchange ideas about how we best produce, summarise and disseminate evidence to inform policy and practice, and using that evidence to improve people’s lives across the world. The summit will feature plenary keynote speakers, special sessions with panel experts, and traditional conference elements like posters and oral presentations. There will also be a robust social program to make sure there are plenty of opportunities to network and have conversations across sectors, such as health, education, social justice, the environment, and climate change. The programme domains include:

• Sustainable development agenda
• Research integrity & making evidence accessible
• Power of synergy in evidence & synthesis products
• Evidence translation & implementation
• Advocating for greater evidence communication & use of evidence
• From global evidence to local impact 

Miloslav Klugar, Chair of the Scientific and Local Organising Committee, extends a warm welcome:

“On behalf of our organising partners, I invite you all to join us for the eagerly anticipated 2nd Global Evidence Summit. You belong at GES! It’s a unique gathering of research and scientists, policymakers and managers but also students, consumers and activities, and patients and caregivers. This is a unique opportunity for people across the globe to get involved in evidence-based practice, with a shared mission to provide a platform to discuss critical issues across different sectors, including health, education, social justice, the environment and climate change.”  

Catherine Spencer, Cochrane's CEO, emphasizing the significance of the GES in fostering synergies and knowledge sharing within the global evidence community:

" I encourage the Cochrane Community to take advantage of Early Bird Registration for the 2nd Global Evidence Summit. Your participation will not only enrich your knowledge but also contribute to a global movement towards impactful, evidence-informed decision-making. Let's unite for #GES2024 and contribute to advancing evidence-based practice globally! We look forward to seeing you there!"

 

Early-bird registration is now open until 13 June. Standard registration is open until 14 August with late/onsite registration available. We also offer discounts to those from low-income economies as well as patients/consumers and students.

• Visit the GES website
• Learn more about registration
• Registration form

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Thursday, February 1, 2024

IgA肾病的非免疫抑制治疗 关键信息 抑制肾素-血管紧张素系统（renin-angiotensin system, RAS）治疗，即血管紧张素转换酶抑制剂或血管紧张素受体阻滞剂，是治疗IgA肾病（IgA nephropathy, IgAN）病人最常见的一线非免疫抑制疗法。 其他非免疫抑制疗法治疗IgAN的作用尚不清楚，需要进一步的临床研究。 为何使用非免疫抑制疗法来治疗IgA肾病？ IgAN是最常见的肾脏疾病之一，导致约20%至40%的病人在20至25年内出现肾功能下降及肾衰竭。IgAN的病因尚未被广泛了解，但大多数人的免疫系统存在异常，导致肾脏受损。然而，其他非免疫功能在该疾病对肾脏的影响中也发挥了作用。 研究目的 我们想了解非免疫抑制疗法（例如抗高血压药物、抗凝血剂、鱼油、扁桃体切除术、草药）是否可以改善IgAN成人和儿童患者的肾脏功能。 我们做了什么？ 我们检索了所有评估非免疫抑制治疗对IgAN病人益处和危害的随机分配试验。我们比较并总结这些试验结果，并根据研究方法与规模等因素，来评价我们对于证据的信心。 我们发现了什么？ 我们纳入了80项研究，纳入4856位接受了多种非免疫抑制治疗的IgAN病人。研究中的患者接受了各种治疗，包括降压药(抗高血压药)、切除参与者的扁桃体(扁桃体切除术)、抗疟药、中药、膳食补充剂(如鱼油)和维生素D受体激动剂。抗高血压药物可抑制RAS系统，且...

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

腹腔镜手术期间深层肌肉放松是否可以改善手术结果？ 关键信息 –腹腔镜手术期间的深层肌肉放松可能不会影响死亡率（死亡）和发病率（健康状况不佳），但我们对结果非常不确定。 – 手术后四天内，深层肌肉放松可能对健康相关的生活质量（幸福感）几乎没有影响。 什么是腹腔镜手术中的深度肌肉放松？ 越来越多腹部手术透过腹腔镜进行。腹腔镜检查是一种使用摄像机插入皮肤上（例如肚脐附近的皮肤）的一个或多个小切口（通常为0.5公分至1.5公分）的手术，。为了改善外科医师的工作条件，人们越来越关注深层肌肉松弛（深层神经肌肉阻断）对防止患者运动和腹部收缩的潜在有益作用。有证据表明，使用深层神经肌肉阻断时，外科医师对工作条件的评价更高。这可能会改善患者的治疗结果，例如降低死亡率、减少并发症或减少不必要的事件。本综述将深层神经肌肉阻断与不同程度的浅层神经肌肉阻断或无神经肌肉阻断进行了比较。 我们想要研究什么？ 腹腔镜手术期间深度肌肉放松是否可以改善手术结果？ 我们做了什么？ 我们检索了将深层肌肉放松与以下较浅层肌肉放松水平之一进行比较的研究： - 无肌肉放松； - 浅层肌肉放松； - 中层肌肉放松。 我们发现了什么？ 我们发现了42项研究，涉及3898名接受过任何类型腹部腹腔镜手术的人。在大多数情况下，这些都是肠道或胃部的手术（20项研究）。这些研究是在世界各地进行的。大多数研究将深层肌肉放松与中层肌肉放松进行...

Monday, January 29, 2024

患者决策辅助工具可帮助面临健康治疗或筛查决策的群众 系统综述问题 患者决策辅助工具对于成年人做出健康治疗或筛查决策的效果/益处如何？ 关键信息 -患者决策辅助工具是当面或在线使用的小册子或视频。它们可以清楚地确定要做出的医疗保健决策，提供有关选项的信息（益处和不利之处），并帮助人们澄清什么对他们来说最重要。决策辅助工具旨在加强和补充与临床医生的咨询，而不是取代它。 - 超过 200 项研究表明，患者决策辅助工具可以帮助成年人更多地参与健康决策，提高他们对决策利弊的了解和预期，并选择反映对他们最重要的选项。 - 使用患者决策辅助工具的成年人没有出现不良影响。 什么是决策辅助工具？ 患者决策辅助工具可以在存在多个选择，包括现状（不变）时，协助并引导人们做出决策。它们是小册子、视频或基于网络的资源，用于陈述决策、描述选项并帮助人们思考选项的哪些功能对他们最重要（哪些功能最关键）。常规照护定义为一般信息、风险评估、健康消费者的临床实践指南摘要、安慰剂干预（例如有关另一个主题的信息）或没有任何干预。 我们想要了解什么？ 我们想要了解，患者在面临健康治疗或筛查决策时，使用患者决策辅助工具是否比常规治疗更好地选择对他们来说最重要的选项。我们还想了解患者决策辅助是否会产生任何不良影响。 我们做了什么？ 我们更新了之前的 Cochrane 系统评价，该系统评价首次发表于 2003 年，然后于 20...

怀孕37周之前出生的新生儿早期给予氨基酸有哪些好处和风险？ 关键信息 由于缺乏有力的证据，怀孕37周之前出生的新生儿早期给予氨基酸的好处尚不清楚。 什么是氨基酸？ 氨基酸是结合形成蛋白质的基本单位。我们的身体会产生一些氨基酸，但有九种必需氨基酸身体无法制造，我们必须从饮食中获得。蛋白质对于健康生长和发育至关重要。新生儿从母乳和配方奶中摄取必需氨基酸。 什么是早产？新生儿早产有哪些风险？ 早产儿的能量储备有限，出生后可能无法很快进食。这通常导致需要通过静脉给予营养（肠外营养）。 我们想研究什么？ 我们想了解，怀孕37周之前出生的新生儿于出生后24小时内相较于出生后24小时后给予氨基酸是否可以改善生长和发育，降低死亡机会，并影响血液中一些正常存在的化学物质。 我们做了什么？ 我们检索了妊娠37周前出生的新生儿随机早期（出生24小时内）或晚期（出生24小时后）接受氨基酸的研究。 我们发现了什么？ 我们在检索中发现了9份报告（383名新生儿）。然而，并非每项研究都报告了我们关注的所有结局。来自少数婴儿的有限数据表明，早期施用氨基酸可能不会改善任何生长情况。早期施用氨基酸可能对血液中的化学物质影响很小或没有影响。还可能导致出生后前三天蛋白质的大量增加；然而，这对新生儿健康意味着什么尚不清楚。现有证据不足以支持怀孕37周前出生的新生儿尽早开始施用氨基酸。 证据时效性如何? 证据检索截至202...

经颈静脉肝内门体分流术治疗肝病导致肾衰竭的成人患者 系统综述问题 比较经颈静脉肝内门体分流术与各种常规治疗—何者最能改善成人肝肾症候群患者的临床状况？ 关键信息 –没有发现足够的高质量证据来证明经颈静脉肝内门体分流术用于改善成人肝肾症候群临床状况的益处与危害。 - 需有数据更可信的较大规模随机临床试验（随机分配受试者至两个或多个治疗组的试验），以妥善评价治疗成人肝肾症候群的益处与危害。 –未来研究也应关注成人肝肾症候群患者的健康相关生活质量以及肾脏与肝脏功能，以协助指导治疗决策。 什么是肝肾症候群？ 肝肾症候群是指患者由于慢性肝病、门静脉（输送血液到肝脏的主要血管）高压以及因肾脏血流量不足造成腹腔积液，继而引发肾衰竭。若不接受肝脏移植，肝肾症候群患者存活期最多六个月。 如何治疗肝肾症候群？ 肝脏移植前，治疗改善临床状况及肾功能。包括白蛋白（肝脏产生的蛋白质，有助于阻止血管中的液体渗透至身体其他部位）输液治疗、清除腹液以及进行经颈静脉肝内门体分流术（TIPS；置入支架（管）以在血管间建立新途径来降低腹腔压的非手术治疗）。 我们想研究什么？ 虽然这些治疗似乎是有效的，但也有报告称它们有一些副作用，因此关于TIPS的有益和有害影响的信息仍不清楚。 我们做了什么？ 我们检索了比较TIPS与常规治疗、不治疗或其他治疗的随机临床试验，这些试验在年龄大于18岁、既往无肾衰竭病史的肝肾综合征成人...

喉罩气道表面活性剂给药预防患有或有风险于呼吸窘迫综合征风险的早产儿的发病率和死亡率 关键信息 – 与通过气管插管给予表面活性剂相比，通过喉罩给予表面活力剂可以减少随时机械通气的需要。 – 与不给予表面活性剂相比，通过喉罩给予表面活性剂可能会减少随时机械通气的需要。 未来需要更进一步的研究。 什么是表面活性剂？ 肺表面活性物质是一种天然物质，可防止婴儿呼气时肺泡黏在一起（塌陷）。在患有呼吸窘迫综合征新生儿的肺中，表面活性剂通常是缺乏的。 什么是呼吸窘迫综合征？ 呼吸窘迫综合征是一种呼吸障碍，主要发生在预产期（怀孕37周）前出生的婴儿。这是由于缺乏表面活性剂引起的。 如何治疗呼吸窘迫？ 通常的治疗包括提供呼吸支持和氧气，以及通过呼吸管（气管）将人工表面活性剂直接注入新生儿的肺部。这可以通过气管内的一根管子（称为气管内插管）用于进行机械通气的婴儿，也可以透过细管或喷雾器（一种将液体药物变成细雾的机器）用于在压力支持打开肺部的情况下自行呼吸的婴儿（称为持续性正压呼吸器（continuous positive airway pressure, CPAP））。然而，将管子放入婴儿气管在技术上具有挑战性，机械通气可能会损害肺部。另一种方法是将一根称为喉罩呼吸道的管子插入婴儿的上呼吸道，该管适合婴儿的喉部（气管上方的管），并允许呼吸支持和表面活性剂的给药。这项技术被认为技术难度较低。 我们想探讨...

外用皮质类固醇治疗男孩包茎 综述问题 外用皮质类固醇治疗男孩包茎有效吗？ 什么是包茎？ 包茎是一种保护龟头的皮肤（包皮）无法完全拉回（缩回）的疾病。包茎在出生时是正常的现象，通常无需治疗即可自行改善。这被称为先天性或生理性包茎。包茎也可能由包皮长疤痕引起，这种情况称为病理性包茎。要区分这两种类型很困难。十分之一的3岁男孩和百分之一的16岁男孩患有包茎。 包茎如何治疗？ 切除或扩大包皮的手术（包皮环切术和包皮成形术）已广泛用于治疗包茎。然而，含有皮质类固醇（减少发炎、限制免疫的药物）的乳膏和软膏已显示出有希望的结果。这提供了一种侵入性较小的治疗方式，并可能为一些人提供了手术以外的治疗选择。 我们想了解什么？ 我们想了解皮质类固醇药膏（外用皮质类固醇）是否比安慰剂或不治疗更能改善以下结局。 • 包皮完全缩回 • 包皮部分缩回 • 伸缩分数（retractability score）的改变 • 包茎长期完全消退 • 对治疗区域或其他部位产生的不良影响 我们做了什么？ 我们找了针对包茎的男孩（出生至18岁）使用外用皮质类固醇与安慰剂或不治疗进行比较的研究。我们只纳入了随机对照试验（randomized controlled trial），其中男孩被随机分配接受皮质类固醇治疗或安慰剂/不治疗。而将研究结果进行比较及总结后，再根据研究方法及规模等因素评价我们对证据的可信度。 我们发现了什么？...

Specifications: Fixed term (2 years), 0.6 FTE
Salary:  £35,000 pro-rata
Location: (Remote – Flexible) Candidates anywhere from the world will be considered; however, Cochrane’s Central Executive Team is only able to offer consultancy contracts outside these countries.
Closing date:  6 February 2024 

Cochrane is an international charity. For 30 years we have responded to the challenge of making vast amounts of research evidence useful for informing decisions about health. We do this by synthesising research findings and our work has been recognised as the international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.

Cochrane's strength is in its collaborative, global community. We have 110,000+ members and supporters around the world. Though we are spread out across the globe, our shared passion for health evidence unites us. Our Central Executive Team supports this work and is divided into four directorates: Evidence Production and Methods, Publishing and Technology, Development, and Finance and Corporate Services.

The Consumer Support Officer will work closely with Cochrane’s Consumer Engagement Officer to support the involvement of consumers (patients, carers and the public) in the Wellcome-funded GALENOS project, including in systematic reviews about mental health topics. Support of consumers in this work will involve connecting consumers with lived experience of mental health challenges to researchers, developing learning resources to support consumer involvement in systematic reviews, and generally promoting patient and public involvement in the systematic review space.  

Don’t have every single qualification? We know that some people are less likely to apply for a job unless they are a perfect match. At Cochrane, we’re not looking for “perfect matches.” We’re looking to welcome people to our diverse, inclusive, and passionate workplace. So, if you’re excited about this role but don’t have every single qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. Whether it’s this role or another one, you may be just the right candidate.

Our organization is built on four core values: Collaboration: Underpins everything we do, locally and globally. Relevant: The right evidence at the right time in the right format. Integrity: Independent and transparent. Quality: Reviewing and improving what we do, maintaining rigour and trust.  

You can expect: 

• An opportunity to truly impact health globally.  
• A flexible work environment  
• A comprehensive onboarding experiences.
• An environment where people feel welcome, heard, and included, regardless of their differences.

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations, and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to our values.

How to apply

• For further information on the role and how to apply
• The deadline to receive your application is 6th Feb, 2024.
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples. 
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 Category: Jobs

Specifications: Permanent – Full Time
Salary:  £64,000 per Annum  
Location: (Remote – Flexible) Candidates anywhere from the world will be considered; however, Cochrane’s Central Executive Team is only able to offer consultancy contracts outside these countries.
Closing date:  9 February, 2024 

Cochrane is an international charity. For 30 years we have responded to the challenge of making vast amounts of research evidence useful for informing decisions about health. We do this by synthesising research findings and our work has been recognised as the international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.

Cochrane's strength is in its collaborative, global community. We have 110,000+ members and supporters around the world. Though we are spread out across the globe, our shared passion for health evidence unites us. Our Central Executive Team supports this work and is divided into four directorates: Evidence Production and Methods, Publishing and Technology, Development, and Finance and Corporate Services.

To lead and hold responsibility for Cochrane’s editorial operations, and to support the Deputy Operations Manager and Editor in Chief of Cochrane in achieving the strategic aims and delivering the objectives of the Cochrane Evidence Production and Methods Directorate (EPMD).   

Don’t have every single qualification? We know that some people are less likely to apply for a job unless they are a perfect match. At Cochrane, we’re not looking for “perfect matches.” We’re looking to welcome people to our diverse, inclusive, and passionate workplace. So, if you’re excited about this role but don’t have every single qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. Whether it’s this role or another one, you may be just the right candidate.

Our organization is built on four core values: Collaboration: Underpins everything we do, locally and globally. Relevant: The right evidence at the right time in the right format. Integrity: Independent and transparent. Quality: Reviewing and improving what we do, maintaining rigour and trust.  

You can expect:  

• An opportunity to truly impact health globally.  
• A flexible work environment  
• A comprehensive onboarding experiences.
• An environment where people feel welcome, heard, and included, regardless of their differences.

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations, and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to our values.

How to apply

• For further information on the role and how to apply
• The deadline to receive your application is 9th Feb, 2024.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2024 Category: Jobs

急性心肌梗塞（俗称心脏病发作）后服用非维生素K拮抗剂口服抗凝剂（有助于防止血栓形成）有什么好处和坏处 关键信息 ·与安慰剂（虚拟治疗）相比：利伐沙班（rivaroxaban）降低急性心肌梗塞发生后的全因性死亡率（任何原因造成的死亡）及心血管相关死亡率（心血管疾病造成的死亡）。达比加群（dabigatran）降低全因性死亡率，但似乎无法降低心血管相关死亡率。阿哌沙班（apixaban）则与安慰剂效果差不多，无法降低急性心肌梗塞发生后的全因性死亡率及心血管相关死亡率。 ·与安慰剂相比，阿哌沙班和利伐沙班都提高了出血的风险。 ·有必要做非维生素K拮抗剂口服抗凝血剂互相比较的研究。 什么是急性心肌梗塞？ 急性心肌梗塞是指供給心肌的血流突然被阻断，导致组间损伤，造成危害生命的状况。临床上，如何替发生过急性心肌梗塞的病人选择最佳治疗方案仍是个挑战。自急性心肌梗塞康复的病人，尽管使用了抗凝血药物（预防血小板凝集成血栓）治疗，其死亡风险仍高。 我们为何要做该Cochrane综述？ 本综述的目的：探讨发生急性心肌梗塞后的病人，使用抗血小板药物加上非维生素K拮抗剂口服抗凝血剂（俗称新一代的血液稀释剂），比较单独使用抗血小板药物，是否更加安全且有效。非维生素K拮抗剂口服抗凝血剂透过延长血液凝集的时间或改变血栓形成的途径，达到预防血栓形成效果。 我们做了什么? 我们检索发生急性心肌梗塞后的病人，使用抗血...

Poster sessions are a key component of most academic conferences. However, rows of text-heavy posters can be difficult for attendees to navigate, particularly for those for whom English is not their native language, or who may be neurodivergent or disabled. Cochrane recently teamed up with researchers to introduce poster templates for the Cochrane Colloquium based on the latest research. The results from the 'real world' assessment are now available. We spoke with the researchers to find out more. 

Can you tell us a bit about your elite poster research team, so we have an understanding of how you are approaching academic posters?Sure! Our team includes Dr. Zen Faulkes, author of the book “Better Posters” and founder of the Better Posters blog; Dr. Mike Morrison, the psychologist who created a redesign for scientific posters that went viral and started the #BetterPoster movement; and Dr. Emily Messina and her colleagues at IPG Health Medical Communications (Noofa Hannan, Victoria Evans, and Anja Petersen) and Helios (James Wells).  

What do you see as the purpose of academic posters?
For all the criticism posters get, they have incredible potential and play a crucial role in science communication. A scientific poster session is one of the only learning environments in science where researchers walk into a room completely open to learning. So, a key function of scientific posters is to give scientists broad, serendipitous insight into work going on across their whole field. Poster sessions are also a great way to meet people with similar research interests. Networking is a key purpose of attending a poster session, but the job of the poster itself is to communicate key ideas quickly (and engagingly!) in a stressful and demanding, busy environment.

Most conference attendees can probably relate to this. Most academic posters follow the same format that they always have. What’s wrong with them?
Imagine that you’re standing in front of a wall where somebody has taped up printed pages of a scientific paper, and you’re trying to read all that dense text and those tiny figures on the pages from four feet away. Now imagine trying to do that while there are a hundred other similar ‘posters’ you would like to see in a short time, while also trying to listen in to what the presenters are saying. Now imagine trying to do that if you’re someone with low vision or a processing disorder that amplifies the lights and sounds in the room. It’s difficult to learn anything from the poster in that context, which is why people often just give up and ask the presenter to explain the study, or just walk away.

That’s the core problem with the traditional scientific poster design: it ignores the context of just how busy and overwhelming the room is. This could be because the traditional design was created decades ago when poster sessions were much smaller.

There is also a harmful feedback loop in scientific poster design, where authors with (typically) no design training feel like they need to ‘fill up all the space’ with text and figures to ‘show that they did work’, and then the poster session attendees learn just to accept that cluttered posters will always be the norm and have to make do with them.

We had over 300 posters at Cochrane Colloquium and walking through them you could see many people used the accessible template. It felt less mentally overwhelming and was fantastic to walk around and learn from them. Can you tell us a bit more about the templates offered?
The #BetterPoster template we provided was based on the latest research in instructional design, accessibility, and eye tracking. It was designed to teach people something (typically the main finding) from a far distance; making it possible for them to learn something from every poster in the room, not just the few that they stop at. Then, the remainder of the poster is designed to quickly communicate additional details (limitations, key figures, methods) still visible at about 3ft. The figures also include mini takeaways, to help people interpret graphs while also trying to, for example, pay attention to you, the presenter. Finally, it includes a QR code that people can scan to get the author’s contact details or read the whole paper. The template was just that – a starting point to make it easier for people to get creative and make their own accessible posters. It was wonderful seeing people use the template whilst also adding their own touches.

At the event you made observations, interviewed people, and did a survey of attendees afterwards. What did you learn?
It was a great three days at the Cochrane Colloquium, seeing the poster template being embraced and people’s response to it. We just got back from presenting our findings at the 2024 European Meeting of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals. Our survey and interviews found that more accessible poster designs may improve engagement and communication at conferences. People found the posters with large figures and limited text to be more engaging; posters using the template were cited as memorable or informative; and they were also easier to understand. 

That's fantastic. This template was made specifically for the Cochrane Colloquium. What can researchers and those creating posters for any conference take away from this?
While the template was designed to the specifications of the Cochrane event, you can tailor them to any event that you need to present a poster at! We encourage all academics to download the template and adjust it as they need to. We're excited to see what you come up with; please tag pictures of your poster with #BetterPoster on social media so we can see them!

• Learn more about the research findings
• Learn more about the accessibility of different conference presentation formats
• Download the #BetterPoster template

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

新生儿消化道术后使用益生菌的好处和坏处 关键信息 ·怀孕35周后出生的婴儿，在接受过食道、胃或肠等消化道手术后，补充益生菌对血液感染风险影响很小或没有影响。 ·益生菌可能会增加肠道中“好”菌的比例，但我们不知道这对婴儿是否有任何真正的好处。 什么是益生菌？ 益生菌是活菌，食用后可能对健康有益。有证据显示，益生菌可以预防坏死性小肠结肠炎等肠道发炎性疾病，以及早产儿感染。 婴儿消化道手术有哪些风险？ 消化道手术会增加感染风险，感染会增加住院时间。而使用对抗细菌感染的药物进行抗生素治疗，以及手术本身所造成的压力，都会破坏消化道中的“好”菌。 我们想知道什么？ 我们想了解怀孕35周后出生，且接受胃或肠道手术的婴儿使用益生菌，是否能改善感染率、住院时间、死亡率、喂食状况以及肠胃道中“好”菌的比例。 我们做了什么？ 我们检索一些研究，这些研究将接受过消化道手术的婴儿随机分配为：实验组（给予益生菌），或安慰剂组（给予不含任何药物成分，但外观或口味都相同的假治疗），或不进行任何治疗。 我们发现了什么？ 有一项小型研究，对象是61位35周后出生且接受消化道手术的婴儿。其中30位婴儿在术后接受益生菌，30位接受安慰剂。 益生菌组中有13%的婴儿出现血液感染，而安慰剂组有19%。未呈现显著差异。 平均而言，益生菌组比安慰剂组的婴儿约提早15小时开始使用胃部进食。这种差异同样不显著。 其中39名婴儿经过...

Monday, January 22, 2024

Cochrane is an international, not-for-profit network of clinicians, patients and carers, researchers, and policy-makers creating high-quality healthcare evidence synthesises. Cochrane has a long and rich history of collaborating with healthcare consumers and this is the story of what breast cancer patients experienced when contributing to a Cochrane Review.  

In 1995, Nora Carbine and Liz Lostumbo, both former breast cancer patients, embarked on a transformative journey as attendees of the Leadership, Education, Advocacy, and Development (LEAD) program developed by the National Breast Cancer Coalition (US). Designed to equip patients with the necessary scientific and leadership essentials for becoming proactive advocates, this five-day initiative taught by notable scientists provided a platform for people with breast cancer to amplify their voices.  

One of the founders of LEAD and a course teacher was  Kay Dickerson MD, an epidemiologist and an active Cochrane member. Post-LEAD, Dr. Dickerson encouraged them to form a Journal Club, meeting monthly with her. Initially guided by Dr. Dickerson's article choices, the members eventually took the reins, presenting their findings on breast cancer research articles. Over a transformative two-year period, they developed their skills in scrutinizing research methods, assessing statistical validity, and distinguishing misinformation. Dr. Dickerson proposed to the group – would they be interested in leading on conducting a Cochrane systematic review on mastectomy to prevent breast cancer (prophylactic mastectomy)? 

A determined group of seven breast cancer advocates undertook the challenge to provide accessible information on prophylactic mastectomy for both patients and physicians, emphasizing the importance of informed decision-making. Guided by Dr. Dickerson and Davina Ghersi at Cochrane, they submitted their plan of study (Protocol) to Cochrane in 2000. They would gather at each other’s houses after work or on a Saturday morning and go through article after article, debating which ones to include and which to exclude. Despite one of the original members and driving force, Annette Drummond, becoming seriously ill with a recurrence of breast cancer, other members dropping out, and the abundance of evidence they had to wade through, the Cochrane review published in 2004, four years after this remarkable journey started.  

A unique feature of Cochrane reviews is that they are updated when new evidence is available. Classes in RevMan (Cochrane’s software for preparing and maintaining Cochrane and other systemic reviews) were taken and more people were added to the team, including an experienced reviewer. The first updated review was published in 2010. 

“Actress Angelina Jolie revealing her family history and her procedures coupled with the increasing availability of DNA testing, thrust the topic of mastectomy for breast cancer prevention into the limelight," says Liz Lostumbo. “We worried that women facing the decision of whether to undergo a prophylactic mastectomy might only encounter anecdotes in the popular media. We were particularly concerned about the lack of discussion concerning the quality of life for patients after mastectomy. The Cochrane review and its accompanying plain language summary became our means of addressing the critical gap in knowledge." 

For the third revision in 2018, they brought in more expertise and updated the wording, changing “prophylactic mastectomy” to “risk-reducing mastectomy”. The review is highly cited, has been made into a Cochrane Clinical Answer for clinicians, and has been included in three clinical guidelines. The plain language summary has been translated into 8 languages making it more accessible globally to patients making a decision and has been included in several Wikipedia articles.  

Nora and Liz note that they will hand other future updates to authors who can break the review into parts that ask more concise questions and produce more high-value conclusions – some of this work is already underway.  

“For us, the whole process of being the only group of patients to take on the responsibility of preparing a review and updating it was one of great satisfaction and pride,” says Nora Carbine. “We believe our work has helped thousands of women facing the decision of having a mastectomy to prevent breast cancer by providing evidence they need to be well informed to make their choice. We applaud Cochrane for giving us the opportunity and thank those who supported us in our endeavour.” 

Cochrane is extremely proud of Nora and Liz and all our patient and advocate volunteers. “While the work of Nora and Liz is extraordinary, it embodies the spirit of what Cochrane is trying to achieve.  We are proud to engage with patients to co-produce health evidence that is meaningful, easy to understand, and can be used for decision-making,” explains Richard Morley, Cochrane’s Consumer Engagement Officer. “The Cochrane Consumer Network has played a formal role since 1995 with over 2,000 members and Cochrane has a formal framework for involving patients, carers, and the public. While it’s likely most patients and caregivers aren’t as ambitious to author a Cochrane systematic review, we do hope this story is an inspiration for others to join our work.” From learning about health evidence and making informed health choices to volunteering to read over our plain language summaries on our volunteer hub Cochrane Engage, there are lots of ways you too can make a global impact on health! 

• Read a more detailed account of Nora and Liz’s story 
• Join Cochrane’s work as a patient, carer, or member of the public 

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 Category: The difference we make