Opened in 2010 as a branch of Cochrane, Cochrane Austria consists of longstanding, dedicated Cochrane enthusiasts located in the Department for Evidence-based Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology at the Danube University, Krems.
Cochrane Austria will continue to promote evidence-based decision making in health care in Austria and the region by supporting and training new authors of Cochrane Reviews, as well as working with clinicians, professional associations, policy-makers, patients, and the media to encourage the dissemination and use of Cochrane evidence.
Cochrane is a global independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers and people interested in health. Cochrane works with collaborators from more than 130 countries to produce credible, accessible health information that is free from commercial sponsorship and other conflicts of interest. Cochrane’s work is recognized as representing an international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.
Cochrane Austria, situated at the Danube University Krems, will be co-ordinated and led by Director, Prof. Gerald Garlehner and Associate Director, Barbara Nussbaumer-Streit, who, together with their team, will offer methodological support, mentoring, and supervision to Cochrane members from the whole region.
Director, Prof. Gerald Garlehner, says this is a hugely exciting opportunity: “The launch of Cochrane Austria as a full Centre is very important, both to Austria and globally. Producing and increasing the dissemination of the best available information on health care is critical for clinicians and patients everywhere in the world, including Austria. Being awarded full Centre status means that we will now have the opportunity to expand the scope and impact of our Cochrane activities.” He added, “Becoming a Centre is a great honour that acknowledges our achievements of the past, like the successful hosting of the 23rd Cochrane Colloquium in Vienna in 2015.”
Associate Director Barbara Nussbaumer-Streit added, “We are also very proud of our Medizin-Transparent.at project, which answers questions about medical claims made by the media in easy to read blog posts. With more than 1.5 million visits per year, it has led to a huge increase in the reach and impact of Cochrane’s profile and work across Austria.”
Cochrane’s CEO Mark Wilson welcomed the news: “I am delighted that we are announcing the launch of Cochrane Austria as a full Centre. The team’s impact in dissemination, knowledge transfer, combined with their continued development of Cochrane authors has been outstanding. Thanks to the growing base of our collaborators from the Danube University in Krems, we’re delighted to recognize the achievements of Cochrane Austria, and now welcome them as one of 17 Cochrane Centres internationally, committed to the fullest range of Cochrane activities.”