Two faculty members – Jim Wright, Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Stuart MacLeod, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics – were invited to Ottawa’s Rideau Hall this week for the awarding of the Knowledge Translation Award from the Canadian Institute of Health Research to the Canadian Cochrane Centre.
CIHR honours the Cochrane Canada Centre. Back row, centre: Jim Wright. Front row centre: the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General, and the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health. Front row, far right: Stuart MacLeod.
Dr. Wright is Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Hypertension Group, one of 52 review groups in the Cochrane Collaboration, an international network of more than 31,000 people from over 120 countries. The Hypertension Group is one of six in Canada, and the only one based in western Canada. Dr. MacLeod is a member of the Canadian Cochrane Centre’s Advisory Board.
Cochrane Reviews try to answer a specific health question, such as, “Can antibiotics alleviate cold symptoms?” and investigate the available research on the topic to determine whether or not the treatment is effective. The research is gathered and assessed using specific criteria and is then synthesized into one report to present the highest quality evidence. The review reveals whether or not the treatment works, or if more research needs to be done to find a conclusive answer. Cochrane Reviews have used evidence to reliably identify what works in health care and describe the benefits and harms (or lack of evidence) for more than 5,400 healthcare questions. Cochrane Reviews are used to inform clinical practice guidelines, justify new studies, and, most importantly, aid people in making well-informed decisions about health care.
Together, Cochrane Canada Review Groups have authored 10 per cent of the reviews in the Cochrane Library.
Both Dr. Wright, the Chair and Managing Director of UBC’s Therapeutics Initiative, and Dr. MacLeod, a Senior Clinician Scientist at the Child and Family Research Institute, are noted authorities in using population-based approaches to study health outcomes and health economics to support decision-making around drug therapy.
The Rideau Hall ceremony was presided over by Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and also included the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister of Health, and Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR. Jeremy Grimshaw, Director of the Canadian Cochrane Centre and Co-Chair of The Cochrane Collaboration, accepted the award on behalf of the Canadian Cochrane Centre.