Patients and carers

Patients and carers play a vital role in Cochrane

Cochrane uses the term consumers to represent patients, carers and family members with first-hand experience of a healthcare condition.

Cochrane consumers

  • Use Cochrane evidence to inform healthcare decisions in their own lives or for their families
  • Make sure Cochrane focuses on producing evidence that is important to patients and carers
  • Comment on draft Cochrane Reviews to ensure they are accessible to all
  • Help with the governance of the organisation
  • Raise the profile of Cochrane evidence among the general public

Get started!

Our free Evidence Essentials course is designed for patients and carers. Learn about health evidence and making informed health choices.

Sign up for our volunteer hub Cochrane Engage. Browse volunteering opportunities for patients and carers and connect with members of the community.

Cochrane Consumer Network

Patients and carers can join the Cochrane Consumer Network, a large and growing community of people across the world. We welcome all members of the public who are interested in high-quality health evidence.

Join the Cochrane Consumer Network

Find out how patients and carers are helping to beat COVID-19.

Gabriel Kwok, Singapore

I began volunteering with Cochrane as a consumer peer reviewer, also helping with assignments through the Cochrane Consumer Network.

Cochrane enables everyone to take part in vital research, while making it more accessible to the wider public. Everyone is an important stakeholder in healthcare, and it is an exciting privilege contributing to the evidence base underpinning patient care.