
Home Review results by therapeutic healthcare area About evidence-based healthcare The Cochrane Collaboration About health consumer participation Terminology Process
The process for development of consumer summaries Members of the Cochrane Consumer Network, in partnership with the Cochrane Complementary and Alternative Medicine Field, have identified Cochrane reviews of particular relevance to health consumers, patients and carers. These are in the area of complementary therapies, non-medication and physical therapies, management of lifestyle and behaviour; which require buy in or commitment by the individuals concerned. The consumers involved in preparing the summaries are people who are experienced in commenting on Cochrane reviews from a consumer perspective. To draft a summary, they have carefully read the review, pulled out the relevant information and cross checked that information with the different parts of the review. The summaries have been written in plain language text, as far as is possible with the technical nature of many of the reviews, the need to be informative and provide an evidence base. The size of effect of an intervention is an important consideration, to be balanced with possible harms or challenges in assessing the strength of evidence. Once a summary has been prepared, it is checked and edited by the project manager (Janet Wale). Summaries are grouped into overviews in a particular health condition or disease. These are sent to the appropriate Cochrane Review Groups and/or authors for checking and making comments. Comments that we receive are incorporated by the project manager into the overviews and individual summaries. The project manager is supported by an administrator and an Advisory Group, who are sent all the overviews before publishing them on the website. Much of the content has been copyedited by the editor of the Cochrane website (wwww.cochrane.org). People, including the Review Groups themselves and their authors, are welcome to make further comment once the summaries have been published on the website. Any comments are to be used as a process of continuing quality improvement. Every effort is made by the project manager to ensure the summaries are updated with each issue of The Cochrane Library. Summaries may continue to be presented, even when a review has been withdrawn, with the reason for its withdrawal provided. This project is funded in part by the Grant Number R24 AT001293 from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). This grant supports the activities of the CAM Field at the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine. The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing provides funding to support Cochrane activities in Australia. Some funds go to the Cochrane Consumer Network, which is convened from Australia, and is used to further the availability of information from Cochrane reviews to health consumers and their healthcare providers. Top of page Copyright © ccnet

The process for development of consumer summaries

Members of the Cochrane Consumer Network, in partnership with the Cochrane Complementary and Alternative Medicine Field, have identified Cochrane reviews of particular relevance to health consumers, patients and carers. These are in the area of complementary therapies, non-medication and physical therapies, management of lifestyle and behaviour; which require buy in or commitment by the individuals concerned.

The consumers involved in preparing the summaries are people who are experienced in commenting on Cochrane reviews from a consumer perspective. To draft a summary, they have carefully read the review, pulled out the relevant information and cross checked that information with the different parts of the review. The summaries have been written in plain language text, as far as is possible with the technical nature of many of the reviews, the need to be informative and provide an evidence base. The size of effect of an intervention is an important consideration, to be balanced with possible harms or challenges in assessing the strength of evidence.

Once a summary has been prepared, it is checked and edited by the project manager (Janet Wale). Summaries are grouped into overviews in a particular health condition or disease. These are sent to the appropriate Cochrane Review Groups and/or authors for checking and making comments. Comments that we receive are incorporated by the project manager into the overviews and individual summaries. The project manager is supported by an administrator and an Advisory Group, who are sent all the overviews before publishing them on the website. Much of the content has been copyedited by the editor of the Cochrane website (wwww.cochrane.org).

People, including the Review Groups themselves and their authors, are welcome to make further comment once the summaries have been published on the website. Any comments are to be used as a process of continuing quality improvement. Every effort is made by the project manager to ensure the summaries are updated with each issue of The Cochrane Library. Summaries may continue to be presented, even when a review has been withdrawn, with the reason for its withdrawal provided.

This project is funded in part by the Grant Number R24 AT001293 from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). This grant supports the activities of the CAM Field at the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing provides funding to support Cochrane activities in Australia. Some funds go to the Cochrane Consumer Network, which is convened from Australia, and is used to further the availability of information from Cochrane reviews to health consumers and their healthcare providers.

Top of page