Building a comprehensive evidence base for public health interventions

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Building a comprehensive evidence base for public
health interventions

• Activities of the Cochrane
• Public Health Review Group

Rebecca Armstrong
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The Cochrane Collaboration
International non-profit organization that
prepares, maintains, and disseminates systematic
up-to-date reviews of health care interventions.
Made up of over 70 self-funded entities around
the world.
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Editorial process for a Cochrane review

• Title registration
• Protocol - sets out plan for conducting the
  review
• Completed review aim for completion in 12
  months

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Cochrane Reviews relevance to policy practice

• .

Interventions
Experimental studies
Other studies
Synthesis of effects
Making it available/Knowledge translation
Integration into practice/policy
Health outcomes
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Our Editors and Staff
Coordinating Editor Professor Elizabeth Waters
RGC Jodie Doyle Knowledge Translation and
Support Rebecca Armstrong, Rebecca Conning,
Rachel Clarke TSC and PH Studies Registry Ruth
Turley and Helen Morgan Research Assistance Lisa
Willenberg

• Editors Professor Margaret Whitehead (UK)
  Dr Mark Petticrew (UK) Dr Laurie
  Anderson (USA) Assoc. Professor Maureen
  Dobbins (Can) Dr Omar Abdulwadud
  (Ethiopia)
• Prof Helen Roberts (UK)
  Dr Alan Shiell (Economics editor) (Can)
  Dr Philip Baker (Feedback editor) (Aus)
  Dr Ruhi Saith (Developing countries editorial
  consultant) (India) Dr Robin Christensen
  (Statistical editor) (Denmark) Prof
  Sreekumaran Nair (Statistical editor) (India)
• Contact database 450 members, from 48 different
  countries (incl 23 DCs), and a growing list of
  authors, review advisory group members, peer
  referees and handsearchers

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Our topic scope

• Population-level public health interventions
• Generally interventions targeted to address the
  broader, distal determinants of health
  particularly those which affect material factors
  and social structural conditions, such as
  poverty, social exclusion, racism and
  discrimination, housing and social environments

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PHRG Topic categories

• INCOME DISTRIBUTION and FINANCIAL INTERVENTIONS
• EDUCATION
• PUBLIC SAFETY
• HOUSING and THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
• EMPLOYMENT THE WORK ENVIRONMENT
• SOCIAL NETWORKS / SUPPORT
• FOOD SUPPLY / ACCESS
• TRANSPORT
• NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
• HEALTH RELATED SYSTEMS
• OTHER

We work closely with The Campbell Collaboration
and existing Cochrane Groups where there is
overlap
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A selection of Reviews and Protocols under
development

• Collaboration between local health and local
  government agencies for health improvement
  (published protocol)
• Community-level interventions to improve food
  security in developed countries (registered
  title)
• Workplace based health promotion interventions
  for preventing and reducing adult obesity
  (registered title)
• Flexible working conditions and their effects on
  employee health and well being (registered title)
• Wheat flour fortification with iron for reducing
  anaemia and improving iron status in at-risk
  populations (registered title)

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Titles under development

• Community wide activities for increasing physical
  activity
• Population level interventions for improving
  health outcomes in ex-prisoners
• Pricing policies to increase healthy food choices
  
• School-time scheduling and its effects on the
  health and wellbeing of students
• Community-building interventions to improve
  physical, social and mental health
• Housing improvement interventions to improve
  health (Campbell protocol for co-registration)
• Oral health promotion for oral health
• Interventions addressing gender disparities in
  family food distribution for improving child
  nutrition

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Opportunities for collaboration

• Peer review
• Commissioning reviews
• Nominating priority topics
• Advisory group participation
• Becoming part of an author team

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Cochrane PHRG contacts

• Liz Waters, Coord Ed ewaters_at_unimelb.edu.au
• Jodie Doyle, RGC jdoyle_at_vichealth.vic.gov.au
• Rebecca Armstrong, Training, support and KT
  armr_at_unimelb.edu.au
• Ruth Turley, TSC TurleyRL_at_cardiff.ac.uk
• Website www.ph.cochrane.org