CCInfo: Electronic news bulletin of The Cochrane Collaboration 16 March 2006 Contents: A. Nigerian Branch of the South African Cochrane Centre B. 4th Asian-Pacific Conference on Evidence-Based Medicine C. Cochrane.org website survey D. 2006 Oxford Workshop on Evidence-Based Diagnostics E. Cochrane Colloquium stipends F. WHO consultation on transparency in clinical trials G. Inaugural PROMIS Conference H. Job Ads I. Next issue of CCInfo XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A. Sender: Taryn Young [taryn.young@mrc.ac.za] Subject: Nigerian Branch of the South African Cochrane Centre It is with great pleasure that the South African Cochrane Centre (SACC) announces the registration of its Nigerian branch. The branch will be hosted by the Institute of Tropical Diseases Research and Prevention (ITDR&P) of the University of Calabar, Nigeria, and coordinated by Dr Martin Meremikwu. It will assist the SACC in achieving its strategic goals of increasing the number of high quality, up-to-date Cochrane reviews relevant to the African region; promoting access to Cochrane reviews and derivative products; promoting evidence-based practice and policy in the African region; promoting the science of research synthesis; and promoting the optimal functioning and sustainable growth of The Cochrane Collaboration. The branch is likely to be of immense benefit to the growing number of Nigeria-based authors of Cochrane systematic reviews, and will assist in raising the level of awareness about evidence-based approaches and the activities of The Cochrane Collaboration in the country. The core functions of the Branch will be the provision of training and support, conducting reviews, promoting the use of The Cochrane Library and hand searching African journals for controlled trials. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX B. Sender: Mingming Zhang [chicc86@hotmail.com] Subject: 4th Asian-Pacific Conference on Evidence-Based Medicine The 4th Asian-Pacific Conference on Evidence-Based Medicine will take place on 15-17 April 2006 in Chengdu. The Conference will feature a broad spectrum of the ideas and principles of evidence-based medicine in the application of research, education, practice and quality improvement. Objectives of the Conference - To introduce and discuss the latest advances of EBM education, research, policy making and improvement. - To introduce and discuss issues concerning the methodology of clinical research and development of clinical trials. - To introduce and discuss the development of health technology assessment and knowledge translation - To provide an opportunity for those doing research on EBM and practicing EBM to get together and share their experiences. Main topics covered - Evidence-Based Decision Making and Management - Evidence-Based Medical Education and Dissemination - Evidence-Based Medical Research - Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Call for Paper/Abstracts The deadline for submission of abstracts is March 31, 2006. Abstracts should address issues pertinent to the theme of the Conference: "Evidence based medicine: research, education, practice and quality improvement." Original articles (3000-4000 words per article), short reports (2000 words/piece), and structured abstracts with 500 words are welcomed. Paper should be either in English or in Chinese. The entire abstract should include title, author(s), and institutional affiliation of first author with a structure of objective, method, result, and conclusion. Please forward both printed manuscript and disk (email submission is preferred). Target Participants All healthcare professionals, scientists, educators, and managers from the Asian-Pacific regions, and experts from other countries are cordially invited not only to present their ideas and experience, but also to participate actively in the scientific program with their presence. Contact Information For more information, please contact the Conference Secretarial and Foreign Affairs Committee The Chinese Cochrane Center West China Hospital Sichuan University Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China Tel: 86-28-85422079/85422082 Fax: 86-28-85422253 Email: cochrane@mail.sc.cninfo.net cochrane@163.com sunyzmy@hotmail.com Website: www.ebm.org.cn XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX C. Sender: Nick Royle [NRoyle@cochrane.org] Subject: Cochrane.org website survey Cochrane.org website survey: improve the user experience, win a 'Dummies' guide The Collaboration is conducting an online survey to find out who uses our website, why and how. The results of this survey will be used to ensure that the website meets effectively the needs of its users. To keep things simple the survey will be available from the website homepage www.cochrane.org. On clicking the survey link participants will be taken to a dedicated server to give their answers online. The survey is entirely voluntary and anonymous, but as an incentive the publishers of The Cochrane Library (www.thecochranelibrary.com), John Wiley and Sons Ltd., have kindly donated ten book vouchers for titles from the well-known 'Dummies Guides' series. If you wish to enter the prize draw (or 'prize drawing', to be drawn at randon from all entries) simply enter your e-mail address in the final 'comments' box in the survey. Rest assured that e-mail addresses will not be used for any other purpose. I do hope that you will be able to participate, and encourage others to do so - and good luck in the prize draw. Nick Royle Chief Executive Officer The Cochrane Collaboration XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX D. Sender: Jon Deeks [jon.deeks@cancer.org.uk] Subject: 2006 Oxford Workshop on Evidence-Based Diagnostics 2006 Oxford Workshop on Evidence-Based Diagnostics St. Hilda's College, Cowley Place, Oxford OX4 1DY 17th - 19th July 2006 Workshop aims The workshop is aimed at giving a thorough grounding in standard and new methods in diagnostic research methods, including the appraisal of diagnostic accuracy studies and systematic reviews of diagnostic studies. After the workshop, participants should be able to: . formulate answerable diagnostic questions . search effectively for evidence on diagnostics . critically appraise evidence about diagnostic accuracy or impact and assess it for its validity and applicability . understand basic measures of accuracy such as sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and ROC statistics . understand the basics of diagnostic meta-analysis, and decision analysis Who should attend this workshop? The workshop is open to clinicians and laboratory staff who are interested in how to improve, their, and others', usage and interpretation of diagnostic tests. It will be of particular interest to those whose work is largely in diagnostics, such as those working in laboratory medicine and radiology. You should consider attending if you: . work in areas that regularly use diagnostic tests and . are committed to the use of evidence to improve use of diagnostic procedures. The Workshop will be chaired by Professor Paul Glasziou, Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and Editor of the Journal Evidence-Based Medicine, and co-chaired by Professor Jon Deeks, Co-convenor of the Cochrane Diagnostic Reviews of Test Accuracy Initiative For an application form or further details please contact: Olive Goddard, Centre Manager, Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, University of Oxford Department of Primary Health Care, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK Tel +44 (0)1865 226991, Fax +44 (0)1865 226845 Email: olive.goddard@dphpc.ox.ac.uk XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX E. Sender: Caroline Rouse [CRouse@cochrane.co.uk] Subject: Cochrane Colloquium stipends Are you interested in attending the Colloquium in Dublin (23-26 October 2006) but need financial support to get there? Stipends provide financial assistance towards travel, accommodation, living expenses and Colloquium registration. Two categories of stipends are available: - Developing Country Stipends: open to residents of a developing country who contribute to The Cochrane Collaboration. - Consumer Stipends: open to healthcare consumers and consumer advocates involved in The Cochrane Collaboration. For more information about Consumer and Developing Country Stipends, please visit the Dublin Colloquium website at http://www.colloquium.info. Submitting a workshop abstract? If you are applying for a stipend, please ensure that you indicate this in the appropriate place on your application form. Notification of acceptance of workshops proposals is after the deadline for stipends applications. Workshop proposals from stipend applicants will be fast tracked through the system so that notification is given before the stipends deadline. Therefore, it would be helpful if you could submit your workshop proposal early. The deadline for applications is Friday 19 May 2006. Caroline Rouse Developing Country and Consumer Stipend Committees Scientific Secretariat XIV Cochrane Colloquium E-mail: crouse@cochrane.co.uk Tel: +44 1865 516300 Fax: +44 1865 516311 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX F. Sender: An-Wen Chan [ChanA@who.int] Subject: WHO International Clinical Trial Registry Platform Dear all, The WHO Registry Platform has been setting norms and standards for global trial registration, and is soliciting input on how to balance the need for complete transparency with the protection of competitive advantage (www.who.int/ictrp/comments4/en/index.html). It is important that we hear the views of the Cochrane research and consumer community in two ways: 1) Submissions for the second round of Open Comments are now being solicited until March 31, 2006 and will be posted unedited on our website as they are received. We welcome new comments or responses to the first round of Open Comments (www.who.int/ictrp/comments/en/index2.html), which was closed on Jan 27. Please send comments to ictrpinfo@who.int with “Open Comments, Round 2” in the subject line. 2) The WHO is holding a formal consultation on the issue of disclosure timing from 1pm - 6pm on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland. At this meeting we hope to put forward a solution to the participants for their constructive feedback and discussion. The session will be highly interactive with very few presentations in order to maximize the opportunities for discussion and debate. Participants will include patients, researchers, and representatives from industry and ethics committees. If you would like to attend, please send an e-mail to ictrpinfo@who.int with “Formal Consultation” in the subject line. We look forward to receiving your comments. The Secretariat of the WHO Registry Platform http://www.who.int/ictrp XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX G. Sender: Kathy Lohr [klohr@rti.org] Subject: Inaugural PROMIS Conference Building Tomorrow’s Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: The Inaugural PROMIS Conference September 11-13, 2006 Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center Gaithersburg, MD, USA The NIH Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Network will host an interdisciplinary forum and open Steering Committee meeting for examining conceptual, clinical, and methodological aspects of assessing and using patient-reported outcomes in clinical research and practice. The 2006 conference will focus on • Key PROMIS activities, including advances in defining PRO domains, building item banks, and developing computer adaptive testing (CAT) instruments for use in clinical research. • Methods of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurement, applications in clinical research and practice, and special issues in assessing physical functioning, pain, fatigue, emotional distress, and social/role participation in adult and pediatric populations. • PRO measurement systems in development and use around the globe. PROMIS investigators are seeking posters for display on the first and second days of the conference: Monday and Tuesday, September 11-12, 2006. All information on abstract submission process and electronic submissions can be found at the following website: www.meeting.promis.iqsolutions.com. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX H. Sender: Miranda Cumpston [cochrane@uottawa.ca] Subject: Job ads Position: Senior Research Analyst/ Research Analyst Organization: Social Care Institute for Excellence Location: London, UK Application deadline: 21 March 2006 Contact: recruitment@scie.org.uk Web: www.cochrane.org/jobs or www.scie.org.uk/recruitment/vacancies/vacancy1.asp Position: Clinical Editor, Clinical Evidence Organization: BMJ Publishing Group Location: London, UK Application deadline: 17 March 2006 Contact: David Tovey, Editorial Director, BMJ Knowledge, 020 7383 6043 or email dtovey@bmjgroup.com Web: www.cochrane.org/jobs Position: Scientific Editor, Clinical Evidence Organization: BMJ Publishing Group Location: London, UK Application deadline: 17 March 2006 Contact: David Tovey, Editorial Director, BMJ Knowledge, 020 7383 6043 or email dtovey@bmjgroup.com Web: www.cochrane.org/jobs Position: System Developer, Information Management System Organization: Nordic Cochrane Centre Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Application deadline: 23 March 2006 Contact: Rasmus Moustgaard, System Developer, +45 3545 7006 or Monica Kjeldstrøm, IMS Director, +45 3545 7110 Web: www.cochrane.org/jobs Position: System Administrator, Information Management System Organization: Nordic Cochrane Centre Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Application deadline: 23 March 2006 Contact: Rasmus Moustgaard, System Developer, +45 3545 7006 or Monica Kjeldstrøm, IMS Director, +45 3545 7110 Web: www.cochrane.org/jobs XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I. Sender: Miranda Cumpston [cochrane@uottawa.ca] Subject: Next issue of CCInfo The next regular issue of CCInfo will be published on Thursday, 30 March 2006. Please submit your items to cochrane@uottawa.ca. When submitting messages for CCInfo, please include "CCInfo" in the subject line of your email so that I can readily identify submissions. Unless you request otherwise, your submissions to the CCInfo may be duplicated in other regular Cochrane Collaboration news channels, such as Cochrane News and the Cochrane Collaboration web site, at the discretion of the editors. Regards, Miranda Miranda Cumpston Education Coordinator The Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre Institute for Work & Health 481 University Ave, Suite 800 Toronto, ON M5G 2E9 Canada Ph: +1 416 927 2027 x2193 Fax: 416 927 4167 Email: cochrane@uottawa.ca Web: www.cochrane.uottawa.ca XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX _______________________________________________ To subscribe to CCInfo, send an email to listserv@listserv.uottawa.ca with the message text "SUBSCRIBE CCINFO-L" (leave the subject line blank). To unsubscribe, send the message text "SIGNOFF CCINFO-L”.