Cochrane provides high-quality, relevant and up-to-date synthesized research evidence to inform health decisions. This page highlights the many ways that Cochrane has successfully responded to COVID-19 around the world. Click on any of the case studies below to find out more, and check back often as we continuously add and update new stories.
Supporting the national COVID-19 Taskforce - In March 2020, Cochrane Australia convened the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce - bringing together leading health researchers, experts and organisations from across the country. Learn more about the work of Cochrane Australia and how the Taskforce is continuing to evolve in a short case story.
Cochrane Living Systematic Reviews vs COVID-19: Highlighting the latest information - Living systematic reviews search for evidence much more regularly than standard reviews and incorporate relevant new evidence as it becomes available. Living reviews are important so that decision makers such as policymakers can be sure they have the latest evidence when making decisions. Learn more about this work and how Cochrane has adapted to the changing situation and availability of evidence in this short case story.
Providing targeted evidence for clinicians - Healthcare workers supporting people with ear, nose and throat (ENT) issues needed to know how COVID-19 may impact on their care and how to protect themselves from infection when providing this. In this short case story, learn more about how Cochrane ENT delivered targeted COVID-19 evidence to support healthcare professionals and patients and what they learned in the process.
iHealthFacts.ie ‘fact checking’ claims in a pandemic - iHealthFacts is an online resource where members of the public can check the current evidence for COVID-19 and other health claims. Read the short case study to learn about the success of iHeartFacts and what this collaborative team has learnt in the process.
Compiling the best available evidence rapidly - Since March 2020, Cochrane Rehabilitation have been compiling the best evidence available, they created a Cochrane Library Special Collection, and an online interactive living evidence map. Learn about the impact of this work in this short case study.
How to review evidence fast and maintain quality - Cochrane Methods Rapid Reviews group developed a way to create rapid reviews, which streamlined our processes to create high-quality reviews related to COVID-19 very quickly. Read more about what this group accomplished and learnt in the process in this short case story.
Evidence to help reopen dental services - As countries began to ease their lockdown restrictions, policy-makers and dental professionals wanted to know when and how best to reopen dental services. Cochrane Oral Health aimed to help them make decisions informed by evidence. Learn more about this collaborative effort to improve evidence-based decision making during COVID-19 in this short case story.
Mapping ‘real-time’ evidence about COVID-19 - Cochrane France wanted to bring together the global evidence about preventing, treating and rehabilitating people with COVID-19 regularly and in one place, so they collaborated on the COVID-NMA initiative. Read more details about this initiative and what this collaboration has been able to achieve in this short case story.
Supporting decision makers - The new Chilean Satellite of the Cochrane Effective Practice of Care Review Group worked with the Ministry of Health to help inform decisions. Learn more about this work with policy makers in this case study.
Very rapid reviews to inform National treatment Guidelines - The South African GRADE Network, co-lead by Cochrane South Africa and the Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, wanted to help policy-makers make decisions based on the best available research evidence in a timely way. Read more about Cochrane South Africa’s work on this Network and what they achieved in this short case study.
Evidence to guide paediatric COVID-19 patient care - Cochrane Mexico worked with paediatric infectious disease specialists to create a Guide for COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment in paediatric patients. Learn more about this guide and how Cochrane Mexico adapted to the changing situation and availability of evidence in this short case study.
Working together to share research evidence - Cochrane Germany build partnerships to share the best available evidence with as many people as possible, and make the findings from Cochrane systematic reviews accessible to German-speaking audiences. Read more about the success of Cochrane Germany during the COVID-109 pandemic.
Sharing high quality evidence in newsletters - Cochrane Portugal produced regular emailed Portuguese newsletters with short summaries about new COVID-19 research. Find out what Cochrane Portugal leant from this process.
Rapid answers to primary care questions - Cochrane Belgium wanted to create answers to primary care clinicians’ most frequent questions about COVID-19, based on scientific evidence, making the answers relevant to Belgium. Learn how Cochrane Belgium achieved their goals for clear, evidence-based answers to meet clinicians needs.
Making COVID-19 evidence easier to find - Cochrane Stroke heard from stroke care professionals and researchers that it was difficult to find relevant material amongst the thousands of articles available. Learn how Cochrane Stroke addressed this challenge.
Making sure COVID-19 evidence is available in people’s preferred language - Cochrane published a rapid review about whether cleaning hands with ash reduces the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in areas where soap is not widely available. Read how Cochrane First Aid made sure this evidence was available to people in their preferred language.
Shaping and sharing COVID-19 evidence with social media - Cochrane China used the mobile telephone social media app WeChat to find out what doctors, nurses and members of the public wanted to know about COVID-19 and to share evidence with them. Learn more about what Cochrane China achieved by harnessing the power of social media during a pandemic.
