Complaints | Cochrane

We aim to respond efficiently and constructively to any complaints we receive.

A complaint must relate to policies, processes or actions that are the responsibility of Cochrane. We define a complaint as anything that identifies a perceived failure or a severe misjudgement.

Making a complaint

Complaints about the conduct or actions of staff, members or supporters in groups associated with Cochrane should be handled within the group itself or host institution. See our groups page for further information and contact details. Where resolution is not achieved, the complaint can be sent to Cochrane, who may be able to help mediate. Please note that the complaint must relate to a Cochrane activity.

All other complaints must be submitted through this complaints form; we reserve the right not to engage with any complaints received outside of this official channel.

Complaints should use plain language and a professional, courteous tone. The form enables us to collect the appropriate information to process your complaint as efficiently as possible, in accordance with applicable data protection policies. Complaints at Cochrane are coordinated by the complaints team, with individual complaints delegated to the relevant member of Cochrane staff. All correspondence relating to a complaint will use complaints@cochrane.org.

If the complainant remains unhappy after the response, complaints may be escalated to an appeals board made up of Cochrane’s leadership (including Editor in Chief, Chief Executive Officer and/or members of the Governing Board, depending on the nature of the complaint). Appeals must be made within 30 days of the complaints response and the decision of the appeals board is final.

If a complainant remains unhappy after what the appeals board considers a definitive reply, depending on the nature of the complaint, the complainant may be able to complain to an external body, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews related complaints, the Charity Commission or the Fundraising Regulator.

Timeframes

All complaints will be formally acknowledged within three working days.
If possible, we will confirm within three weeks whether a complaint will be investigated. If this timeframe is not possible, we will provide an interim response within three weeks.
If a complaint is investigated, we will inform the complainant of the outcome. We will not necessarily provide regular updates in the interim.

Where we consider a complaint to be obscene, abusive, or the result of a coordinated campaign, we reserve the right to reply outside the suggested timeframes, and on some occasions, we reserve the right not to respond to all complainants individually. We also reserve the right not to process complaints of a duplicative nature from a single individual.

Other issues

This procedure is solely for complaints as defined above. Any other issues should be directed as follows:

An official Cochrane policy, in effect from March 2024