Ottawa (May 19, 2010) - The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) recently announced $9.6 million in funding over the next five years to Cochrane Canada to help fulfill its mission of cultivating evidence-based health decision-making by promoting the use and accessibility of Cochrane Reviews.
Cochrane Reviews are the main product of the Cochrane Collaboration, of which Cochrane Canada is the Canadian branch. The Collaboration is an international, independent, not-for-profit organization of over 27,000 contributors from more than 100 countries. It is comprised of world leaders in evidence-based health care and its contributors work together to produce systematic assessments of healthcare interventions, Cochrane Reviews, which are published online in The Cochrane Library. The over 4,000 Cochrane Reviews are intended to help providers, practitioners and patients make informed decisions about health care, and are the most comprehensive, reliable and relevant source of evidence on which to base these decisions.
"CIHR is proud to invest in this partnership with Cochrane Canada which will improve healthcare decision-making by supporting the production and use of research evidence in the form of systematic reviews," said Dr. Ian Graham, Vice President, Knowledge Translation, for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. "Investing in synthesizing the findings from health research conducted in Canada and around the world is a cornerstone of CIHR's knowledge translation strategy."
The five-year funding commitment will help Cochrane Canada fulfill the mandate of the Collaboration in Canada including training review authors to conduct new Cochrane Systematic Reviews which help influence medical practise and health policy. Cochrane Canada is comprised of the Canadian Cochrane Centre, and specialized Canadian Review and Methods Groups, and Fields which produce systematic reviews focused on a particular health area.
"We are delighted that CIHR recognizes the value in Cochrane Canada and the larger Cochrane Collaboration. This is clear from their decision to fund our activities for another five years," said Jeremy Grimshaw, Director of the Canadian Cochrane Centre. "We are determined to utilize this funding in the best possible manner and produce even more Cochrane Reviews to help influence the way medicine is practised in Canada and inform health policy. Cochrane Reviews are the gold standard in health evidence."
The grant will be administered by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, where Dr. Grimshaw is a Senior Scientist. Dr. Grimshaw is also a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa. This is the second five-year funding commitment CIHR has made with Cochrane Canada. The first was from 2005-2010.
About the Canadian Cochrane Centre
The Canadian Cochrane Centre (CCC), which co-ordinates the activities of Cochrane Canada, was registered in August 1993 and is one of 13 independent, not-for-profit Centres of The Cochrane Collaboration worldwide. The CCC is located at the Institute for Population Health at the University of Ottawa. The Centre supports the activities of over 2,067 members of The Cochrane Collaboration in Canada to promote the Collaboration, The Cochrane Library and evidence-based health care in Canada. The CCC collaborates with health professional organizations, health researchers, health technology assessment groups, national consumer associations, governments and other interested groups in order to achieve this goal. Cochrane Canada is composed of five Review Groups, two Methods Groups, one Field, 18 Regional sites and 26 partner organizations.
About the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health-care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.
About the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with the University's Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. The OHRI includes more than 1,500 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease.
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For more information:
Lori Tarbett
Communications Specialist
Canadian Cochrane Centre
613-562-5800 ext. 2927
ltarbett@uottawa.ca
David Coulombe
Media Specialist
CIHR
613-941-4563
david.coulombe@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
