Eva Madrid heads Cochrane’s Ibero-American Evidence Synthesis Unit
4/07/2024CIESAL researcher heads new Cochrane Ibero-American Evidence Synthesis Unit
The Unit is made up of seven healthcare research centres in Latin America and Spain.
The Cochrane Collaboration – an independent organisation whose mission is to produce high quality evidence for healthcare decision making – has announced the creation of Evidence Synthesis Units (ESU) in five continents. These collaborative, multidisciplinary research groups will play a crucial role in delivering reliable evidence to address major global health challenges. The Ibero-American Unit will be led by Dr. Eva Madrid, Tenured Professor at the Universidad de Valparaíso School of Medicine and researcher at CIESAL.
Photo: Attendees at the Ibero-American Cochrane Network meeting, London, September 2023
The Cochrane Collaboration has been recognised for 30 years as an institution producing evidence syntheses with high quality standards and rigorous methodology, in order to provide resources for healthcare decision making. An evidence synthesis is a secondary research method – in this case medical – that allows researchers to collect and integrate all relevant published information on a research question, incorporating, in addition, the values and preferences of patients. It is particularly useful for identifying knowledge gaps in health care, establishing an evidence base for guidance on best clinical practices, and providing quality information to policy makers and healthcare professionals.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, there arose an additional need to respond quickly to global health challenges. The Cochrane Collaboration therefore set out to design a new model for the production of evidence synthesis, an organisational transformation that will involve a process of change, over a period of 3 to 5 years, with a new strategic plan to produce timely evidence without sacrificing the quality of its systematic reviews.
To this end, the creation of Evidence Synthesis Units (organised as multi-thematic research centres) capable of producing timely, high-quality evidence in response to the needs of international organisations, governmental bodies and other decision-makers was recommended. The objective is to provide evidence synthesis based on the diverse requirements of institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as well as international foundations that sponsor medical research, such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, Arnold Ventures, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation.
Dr. Eva Madrid: ‘We aspire to drive positive change and foster better health and more equity across diverse communities.’
To this end, the Cochrane Collaboration called for applications in December 2023 from all its centres worldwide with methodological expertise, local knowledge, access to a global network of experts and the capacity to produce quality evidence.
In June 2024 it was announced that – of the numerous applications received from various countries – five Evidence Synthesis Units had been selected. Among them, the Ibero-American Unit was chosen, co-directed by Dr. Eva Madrid -director of CIESAL- and Dr. Tomás Pantoja, member of the Evidence Centre of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Commenting on the challenges involved in leading this project, Eva Madrid explained:
‘We envision becoming a leading hub for evidence synthesis in the Ibero-American region, renowned for its rigorous methodologies, timely delivery, and contributions to advancing healthcare knowledge. Through strategic partnerships and cutting-edge technologies, we aspire to drive positive change and foster better health and more equity across diverse communities.’
Within the Ibero-America Unit, the Cochrane Associate Centre sub-unit at the University of Valparaíso will be led by Dr. Nicolás Meza, who will work with Dr. Javier Bracchiglione (both are professors at the School of Medicine and researchers at CIESAL) together with the other members of the Evidence Synthesis team, with vast experience in the creation of Cochrane systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines and manuals for the Ministry of Health, the Chilean Mutual Association and the Pan American Health Organization, among others.
In addition to the Ibero-American Unit, the Cochrane Evidence Synthesis Units that have been selected are the Australian Unit, led by Sally Green; the Indian Unit, led by Meenu Singh; the German Unit, co-led by Juan Franco and Nicole Skoetz; and the Nigerian Unit, led by Martin Meremikwu. These Units are made up of highly specialised teams of experts, who will work in line with the Cochrane Collaboration’s reputation based on rigor and scientific integrity, together with the absence of conflicts of interest, factors that guarantee reliable, quality evidence in the face of present and future global health challenges.