WHAT IS A COCHRANE REVIEW?

Abstract

In this era of evidence-based practice, it is important for nurses in all settings to understand and have access to high-quality systematic reviews of published evidence. This paper introduces a premier resource, the Cochrane Collaboration, and reviews mechanisms for accessing its published systematic reviews from any practice setting.

The international non-profit Cochrane Collaboration promotes and disseminates information on healthcare interventions. The Collaboration’s major product is a database of systematic reviews. Reviewers systematically search for all evidence related to clinical questions; reports of randomized controlled trials involving human subjects are critically evaluated to enable the reader to quickly determine if the findings apply to a particular patient. Reviews have included such topics as:

• Nursing interventions for smoking cessation

• Continuous positive airway pressure delivery interfaces for obstructive sleep apnoea

• The timing of tracheotomy

• Antibiotics to reduce post-tonsillectomy pain and morbidity

• Antibiotics for the prevention of acute and chronic suppurative otitis media in children

Cochrane also produces general reviews of such organizational, educational, and administrative questions as:

• Organisational infrastructures to promote evidence-based nursing practice

• Communication skills training for healthcare professionals working with cancer patients, their families and/or carers

• Interventions to promote collaboration between nurses and doctors

There are also reviews on topics of a broader health intervention nature:

• Powered toothbrushes for oral health

• Red-light cameras for the prevention of road traffic crashes

The first step in a Cochrane review is the registration of the proposed topic followed by the creation and approval of a protocol for the review. A review protocol is similar to a protocol for a clinical research project. Protocols are published to elicit commentary and input by other researchers. The published reviews, which are regularly reviewed and updated, appear in the Cochrane Library, and are indexed by Medline (PubMed), CINAHL, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and other indexing services.

Academic and medical libraries may make Cochrane reviews available by a subscription to the Cochrane Library from Wiley InterScience, with access online or on quarterly CD-Rom discs, or in a suite of evidence-based medicine products, Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews, from Ovid. Individuals, clinics, and private offices may also subscribe to the Cochrane Library or acquire copies of individual reviews on a pay-per-use basis from Wiley. The Cochrane Library is free in some countries, including developing countries, and throughout Central and Latin America and the Caribbean. Subscription costs vary, but start at $285 per year USD for an individual subscription. Pay-per-view is $25 per article USD. Individual reviews are also available via standard interlibrary loan procedures through public, academic and medical libraries.