From patient uncertainty to WHO policy in two years: A GP's experience of preparing and maintaining a Cochrane review

Abstract

Clinical encounters in daily practice can provide a fertile ground for identifying uncertainties that require further investigation. Addressing such uncertainties by undertaking a Cochrane review can be a rewarding educational process and result in important contributions to health care policy. This paper describes the experiences of a UK GP undertaking a Cochrane review whilst working in clinical practice. It outlines some of the practical issues when starting a review, the importance of effective mentorship and collaboration, the power of the modern medical media (BMJ, Wikipedia) and engaging with policy makers (WHO).

Keywords::

• systematic reviews
• meta-analyses
• research methodology
• general practice/family medicine
• treatment/intervention research medical education

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

John Holden (Garswood Surgery), Daniel Pope (University of Liverpool), Rongrong Yan (University of Peking), Christian Gluud (Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group), Steven Wiersma (WHO), Jördis Ott (WHO) and Sir Iain Chalmers (James Lind Alliance).

Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflict of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.