Patients and the public play a vital role in Cochrane

Patient and public involvement is research being carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public, rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them.

When we say 'patients and the public', we mean patients and potential patients, people who use health and social care services, carers, people who use health and social care services, and people or organizations that represent these groups.

Cochrane has a long and rich history of involving patients and the public globally in all aspects of our work.

Cochrane supports involvement  in health research because it:

• promotes transparency, accountability and trust in the way that research is produced;
• results in evidence that addresses patient and public needs, reduces waste in research, improves the translation of research into policy and practice, and ultimately leads to improved benefits for health systems and outcomes for patients and the public;
• is consistent with current health research approaches and is expected or mandated by our funders, partners and the public.

How we are involving patients and the public

• Statement of Principles for Consumer Involvement in Cochrane lays out how we will engage with consumers and our commitments to them.
• Cochrane Consumer engagement and involvement framework to 2027 builds on existing work leading to consumer involvement throughout the entire process of research and dissemination of Cochrane evidence.
• Shared commitment to public involvement in health and social care research was signed by Cochrane along with other health and social care leaders.
• The Cochrane Patient and Public Network, established in 1994, is a free-to-join community that is united by a desire to find high quality health evidence, and to be part of creating and sharing that knowledge.

Patient and public involvement in practice

• Cochrane's Patient and Public Network Executive - Mission is to advocate for, and support, patient and public involvement in the Cochrane and global evidence community, and to represent the priorities and concerns of Cochrane patients and members of the public.
• Members of the author team - Lived experience of the healthcare condition, as a patient or member of the public, can make a substantial contribution to the research question, research design, interpretation of data, and dissemination and knowledge translation of findings.
• Members of advisory groups - Advisory groups provide oversight and input throughout the whole review process.  The authors can turn to them for advice or input when specific issues arise during the review process.
• Patient and public peer reviewers - Providing feedback on Cochrane protocols and reviews before they are published to ensure they are relevant and accessible.  This ensures better outcomes for patients and the public.

Learning for patient and public involvement

• Cochrane Evidence Essentials is a co-produced, interactive, free introduction to evidence-based medicine, clinical trials, Cochrane evidence and getting involved.
• Involving People is evidence informed and co-produced guidance and resources for research teams looking to involve people in systematic reviews.
• Cochrane patient and public involvement collection includes recorded webinars, short guides, and links to other learning to help research teams involve people in meaningful ways.
• Involvement - a guide for funding applications explains how people could be involved and best practices for their involvement.
• Join Cochrane: a volunteer pathway for healthcare patients and the public.

Stay connected

• Email: Get in touch at involvement@cochrane.org