NEW COCHRANE THEMATIC GROUP TO ADVANCE COLLABORATION AND RESEARCH IN ACUTE AND EMERGENCY CARE

We are delighted to share that Cochrane Pre-hospital and Emergency Care is now part of the newly approved Cochrane Acute and Emergency Care Thematic Group.

The Cochrane Review Groups on Emergency and Critical Care, Anaesthesia, and Injuries, along with the Cochrane Fields of Pre-hospital and Emergency Care, and First Aid, have joined forces to create a new Thematic Group on Acute and Emergency Care. This partnership is designed to advance collaboration and research across this broad range of specialised topic areas, improve the quality and accessibility of evidence for healthcare providers in time-sensitive settings, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes. After all, timely and evidence-based first aid, pre-hospital, and in-hospital care for acute or critical conditions or medical emergencies have substantial beneficial effects on people’s lives.

The mission of the new Thematic Group is to support evidence-based guidelines and strategies that enhance patient outcomes in critical scenarios worldwide. Drawing on the successful collaboration of three Cochrane Review Groups and two Cochrane Fields, this Thematic Group builds on a solid foundation of teamwork and shared goals, where together, we aim to function as a knowledge hub and become an umbrella for groups dealing with the broad scope of first aid, pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency care, critical care, and anaesthesia.

The main aims of the Thematic Group are:
   • To facilitate coordination and collaboration among researchers, clinicians, and stakeholders, as the broad range of acute and emergency care not only requires focused attention, but also close collaboration. This will help to break down knowledge silos, reduce research waste, and promote efficient use of resources.
   • To facilitate the creation of multidisciplinary working groups that support and oversee the development of more complex reviews, and also explore novel methods for evidence synthesis, knowledge translation and priority setting
   • To prioritize key topics where evidence can have a significant beneficial impact on patient outcomes. By ensuring that Cochrane evidence syntheses are timely, relevant, and useful, Cochrane target audiences will be able to access the evidence they are looking for more easily. The Group will also identify knowledge gaps and foster global awareness of diverse health challenges.
   • To train and educate authors and editors, and help strengthen capacity in low- and middle-income countries

By combining content, methodological and statistical expertise across multiple disciplines, the new Thematic Group is well-positioned to tackle global health challenges in the broad scope of acute and emergency conditions.

This new Thematic Group will be chaired by Professor Harald Herkner from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and Professor Ann Merete Møller from Herlev Hospital’s Anaesthesia Research Unit in Denmark, serving as its managing and financial director. 
Other core team members are Dr. Emmy De Buck and Dr. Jorien Laermans (Cochrane First Aid), Professor Patricia Jabre and Dr. Daniel Meyran (Cochrane Pre-hospital and Emergency Care), Naomi Dayan, Anne-Marie Klint Jørgensen, Professor Andrew Smith and Dr. Marialena Trivella (Cochrane Emergency and Critical Care Cochrane Injuries and Cochrane Anaesthesia).