The Cochrane Collaboration Pain, Palliative Care and Supportive Care Collaborative Review Group

Abstract

The Pain, Palliative and Supportive care group is one of 50 collaborative review groups that make up the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization with the task of preparing, maintaining and disseminating systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare. Cochrane reviews are published cumulatively four times a year on the Cochrane library (CD-ROM and Web-based), along with other useful material such as a register of some 300,000 randomized controlled trials. The group has identified some 20,000 randomized trials in pain and 1,200 in palliative care. Reviews in progress are also published on the library as protocols. Full peer-review is undertaken for protocols and reviews. The Pain, Palliative and Supportive care group is an informal international team involving some 100 people from some 18 countries. The group has published 26 protocols and 17 full reviews with a further 50 reviews in progress. The task is huge and there is scope for further volunteers to help with the various tasks of writing reviews, peer reviewing and literature searching.

Key Words:

• Cochrane
• pain
• palliative
• supportive
• care
• headache
• collaboration
• systematic
• review
• evidence-based
• international

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Frances S. Fairman

Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD, is Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. At the time that this review was conducted, she was a Community Care Pharmacy Practice Resident at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Perry G. Fine, MD, is Professor of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine and Associate Medical Director, Pain Management Center at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City; and National Medical Director, VistaCare, based in Scottsdale, AZ. This commentary is based on an article in Dr. Fine's VistaCare Palliative Medicine Monitor.

Jonathan R. Gavrin, MD, is the Internet editor for the Journal. He is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine; Associate Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; and Associate Director for Clinical Anesthesia Services, Harborview Medical Center.