Cochrane is an international network with headquarters in the UK, a registered not-for-profit organization, and a member of the UK National Council for Voluntary Organizations. Cochrane produces systematic reviews, published in the Cochrane Library, to help people make informed health decisions.
Cochrane is for anyone interested in using high-quality information to make health decisions. Whether you are a clinician, patient or carer, researcher, or policy-maker, Cochrane evidence provides a powerful tool to enhance your healthcare knowledge and decision-making.
Cochrane's members and supporters come from more than 190 countries, worldwide. We are researchers, health professionals, patients, carers, and people passionate about improving health outcomes for everyone, everywhere. Our global independent network gathers and summarizes the best evidence from research to help you make informed choices about treatment and we have been doing this for 30 years.
We do not accept commercial or conflicted funding. This is vital for us to generate authoritative and reliable information, working freely, unconstrained by commercial and financial interests.
Our vision
Our vision is a world where health decisions are based upon timely, trusted and relevant evidence.
Our mission
We are an independent organization that collaborates with global partners to produce accessible, trusted evidence and advocate for its use to deliver better, more equitable health for all.
What we do
Cochrane exists to provide reliable evidence that people can use to make more informed health decisions. We produce evidence in the form of systematic reviews by carefully examining all of the scientific research to answer a particular question – for example, ‘does treatment X help people with disease Y?’ – and working out what the overall effect is. We use sophisticated methods to combine and compare several studies, sometimes hundreds, making our reviews more reliable than individual studies.
How do we do this?
- Collaboration: Underpins everything we do, locally and globally
- Relevance: The right evidence at the right time in the right format
- Integrity: Independent and transparent
- Quality: Reviewing and improving what we do, maintaining rigour and trust
There is no one place or office that is 'Cochrane'. Our global network of members and supporters work together to achieve our strategic goals and are usually affiliated to one or more Cochrane Groups based on their interests, expertise, and/or geographical location. Find out more about our organizational structure.
Our principles
Cochrane's work is based on ten key principles:
- Collaboration
by fostering global co-operation, teamwork, and open and transparent communication and decision-making. - Building on the enthusiasm of individuals
by involving, supporting and training people of different skills and backgrounds. - Avoiding duplication of effort
by good management, co-ordination and effective internal communications to maximize economy of effort. - Minimizing bias
through a variety of approaches such as scientific rigour, ensuring broad participation, and avoiding conflicts of interest. - Keeping up-to-date
by a commitment to ensure that Cochrane Reviews are maintained through identification and incorporation of new evidence. - Striving for relevance
by promoting the assessment of health questions using outcomes that matter to people making choices in health and health care. - Promoting access
by wide dissemination of our outputs, taking advantage of strategic alliances, and by promoting appropriate access models and delivery solutions to meet the needs of users worldwide. - Ensuring quality
by applying advances in methodology, developing systems for quality improvement, and being open and responsive to criticism. - Continuity
by ensuring that responsibility for reviews, editorial processes, and key functions is maintained and renewed. - Enabling wide participation
in our work by reducing barriers to contributing and by encouraging diversity.
Why do we do this?
Our mission to provide accessible, credible information to support informed decision-making has never been more important or useful for improving global health. In the digital age, people have much greater access to health information, but little way of knowing whether that information is accurate and unbiased. We do not accept commercial or conflicted funding. This is vital for us to generate authoritative and reliable information, working freely, unconstrained by commercial and financial interests.
For more information on our conflict of interest policy, click here.