Cochrane, an international scientific organization, has announced the creation of five Evidence Synthesis Units (ESU) as a result of a competitive call to which 15 proposals from 10 countries of 6 continents. One of these five units, which will be responsible for undertaking evidence synthesis tasks from organizations around the world and producing high-quality systematic reviews, is the Iberoamerican Cochrane ESU, promoted from the Iberoamerican Cochrane Center – located at Sant Pau Campus Salut Barcelona – whose director is Gerard Urrútia. This ESU will be directed by Eva Madrid and Tomás Pantoja. The other four ESUs are those of Australia, India, Germany and Nigeria.
The new Cochrane ESU Iberoamerica is made up of seven partners or synthesis subunits, among which are those of the Iberoamerican Cochrane Center, coordinated by Marta Roqué, and that of Cochrane Madrid, located at the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid, coordinated by Jesús López Alcalde and Javier Zamora. The other five subunits are those of the Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria (IECS), from Argentina, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, the Instituto Universitario del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, from Argentina, and the Centro Interdisciplinary Health Studies (CIESAL) in Valparaíso (Chile).
In addition, ESU Iberoamerica will initially have three collaborating institutions to develop its work: Cochrane Switzerland, Cochrane Holland and the Universidad de Antioquia, in Colombia.
The geographical distribution of the new units, each on a continent, reflects Cochrane’s commitment to producing evidence that helps improve the health of people around the world. In addition to generating high-quality evidence synthesis, the units will also adopt innovative methods, promote health equity and advocate for research integrity, and strengthen or develop partnerships with stakeholders to support long-term sustainability Cochrane term.
Following Cochrane’s announcement of the creation of the Iberoamerican ESU, its director, Eva Madrid, noted: “We envision becoming a leading evidence synthesis unit in the Iberoamerican region, recognized for its rigorous methodologies, its timely delivery and its contributions to the advancement of health knowledge.Through strategic alliances and cutting-edge technologies, we aspire to drive positive change and foster better health and more equity in diverse communities”.
For her part, the Editor-in-Chief of the Cochrane Library, Karla Soares, emphasized that the new Evidence Synthesis Units are a key part of a wider program of change at Cochrane: “Our program ‘ The Future of Evidence Synthesis’ is having a transformative impact on Cochrane’s ability to deliver reviews that respond to the needs of our users worldwide.By implementing structural changes, Cochrane aims to be more agile and adaptable in a competitive environment, allowing the organization to effectively execute its new science strategy.”
