The Cochrane Library: Finding the Evidence

The Cochrane Library contains several health-related databases, and is best known for its publication of systematic reviews of evidence of the effectiveness of health care interventions, such as drugs or surgery. The systematic reviews contain high-quality, independent evidence, aimed at informing healthcare decision-making. Reviews are prepared by subject-specific Review Groups that are part of the Cochrane Collaboration. Of special note are the plain language summaries contained in every systematic review, aimed at summarizing the reviews in a straightforward style that can be understood by healthcare consumers. The Cochrane Library may be searched, or browsed by topic and review group. Topics of special interest, for example, metastatic breast cancer, are highlighted on The Cochrane Library home page, and many resources on those topics are gathered together in Special Collections. Podcasts containing audio summaries of selected reviews are also available.