Announcing our competition for health professionals to win free registration to the Cochrane UK & Ireland Symposium 2017!

Each year, we organize an annual symposium for all of our networks, including UK- and Ireland-based Cochrane contributors, researchers, health professionals, students, charities, patient advocates, and other interested groups.

The 2017 symposium will take place at Keble College, Oxford on the 14th and 15th March 2017. The theme is ‘Cochrane: Through the Looking Glass’.

To enter the competition, you must be a health professional working in either the UK or Ireland. If you are a student health professional, please enter the student competition on Students 4 Best Evidence.

The prize includes:

• Free registration to attend both days of the symposium.
• Accommodation at Keble College (for the night of the 14th March 2017).
• Reasonable travel expenses. E.g. Standard class train fare.

Your task:

Create a resource to share a Cochrane reviewCochrane Reviews are systematic reviews. In systematic reviews we search for and summarize studies that answer a specific research question (e.g. is paracetamol effective and safe for treating back pain?). The studies are identified, assessed, and summarized by using a systematic and predefined approach. They inform recommendations for healthcare and research., relevant to your practice, with your colleagues.

It could be a blog, poster, infographic, prezi, video or some other format! Maybe you’ve used Cochrane evidenceCochrane Reviews are systematic reviews. In systematic reviews we search for and summarize studies that answer a specific research question (e.g. is paracetamol effective and safe for treating back pain?). The studies are identified, assessed, and summarized by using a systematic and predefined approach. They inform recommendations for healthcare and research. to inform your practice – you could share that story along with information about the review.

Think about what your colleagues will need to know. For example:

• What question is the review addressing and why is the review important?
• Briefly, what did the review authors do (e.g. how many studies did they include in the review)?
• What are the main findings?
• How certain can we be about the findings (e.g. what caveats are there and what is the quality of the evidenceThe certainty (or quality) of evidence is the extent to which we can be confident that what the research tells us about a particular treatment effect is likely to be accurate. Concerns about factors such as bias can reduce the certainty of the evidence. Evidence may be of high certainty; moderate certainty; low certainty or very-low certainty.  Cochrane has adopted the GRADE approach (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) for assessing certainty (or quality) of evidence. Find out more here: https://training.cochrane.org/grade-approach?)
• What are the implications of the review for your practice?

Entries will be assessed on their clarity, accuracy, and ability to engage the target audience.

Choose your review from the Cochrane Library (ideally a review that has been published within the last few years).

The deadline for the competition is 31st January 2017. Winners will be notified by 8th February.

Please email your entries to therese.docherty@cochrane.nhs.uk with your name, job title and place of work. By entering the competition you are agreeing to Cochrane UK publishing your entry.

Good luck!