CCNC Impact Project

“Because of free access to The Cochrane Library, I was able to search different antibiotic treatments for my daughter’s acne so I would have more specific questions for my doctor.” – Consumer

The Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre recently completed an Impact and Usage Project to evaluate the use and effectiveness of The Cochrane Library. We put a call out to those across the country who are involved with the Centre and use the Cochrane database in an effort to find out how Cochrane evidence contributes, both directly and indirectly, to improvements in the healthcare sector. We intend to use the data to create an inventory of Canadians’ use of Cochrane reviews to determine to what extent Cochrane evidence is applied. We received responses from across the nation and various areas of health care.
   
We are pleased to hear that Cochrane reviews are used to make professional, policy and personal decisions. From your testimonials we learned that Cochrane systematic reviews are powerful enablers for policy and program change, confidence makers for professionals and empowering tools for consumers. While most users have pointed out the value of evidence-based practice that The Cochrane Library provides, many have also indicated that Cochrane evidence saves them time and money. Many users enjoy the free accessibility, especially those from remote regions. We have received numerous comments requesting that the national license be extended.                              

We also asked you provide us with personal stories of how the database helped you. We’ve received numerous interesting stories which we’ve been sharing with you through our Story of the Week feature. Please visit this page to be enlightened with stories of how Cochrane has made a difference in the lives of Canadians.

As an incentive, we offered a prize category for those who submitted the most compelling stories. The winners of the Amazon gift certificates are:

First place: Karen; Ottawa, Ontario
Second place: Jason Murdoch; family physician, Burlington, Ontario
Third place: Anonymous; Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

The winning stories have been posted to date under our Story of the Week feature.

Didn’t have an opportunity to fill out the survey, but are still interested in telling your story? We’d love to hear from you. Please continue to submit your Cochrane stories to ccnc-iph@uottawa.ca. Whether you’ve used a Cochrane review in your professional practice, creating or improving policy, assessing health care technology, teaching materials, decision-making tools or as part of personal choices, the CCNC would love to know about it. We plan to incorporate your input in our Canada-specific promotion and communication material to increase awareness and usage of The Cochrane Library as well as other Cochrane products.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact Mai Elramly at ccnc-iph@uottawa.ca.