Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs) are short summaries of Cochrane systematic reviews aimed at health professionals. CCAs are created using a defined template to present the key evidence from reviews in a concise format. Reviews are selected based on factors like disease prevalence and recently being updated. Existing CCAs cover topics like diabetes, COPD, and acute pain. CCAs are developed by extracting data from reviews using a program, with qualitative details added by editors. Final CCAs are drafted by clinician associate editors, edited, and approved by the Editor in Chief before publication.

1. Cochrane Clinical Answers
Karen Pettersen September 2012

2. What are Cochrane Clinical
Answers?
—Aimed at health professionals at the
point of care, mimicking the way they
approach information-gathering
—Data mine the high quality evidence
from Cochrane systematic reviews to
create short answers to a clinical
question

3. How did we select which Cochrane
reviews to start with?
• Prevalence and high morbidity of condition
(including high hospitalization rates)
• Recently updated reviews
• Reviews that showcase Cochrane review
development initiatives such as Summary of
Findings tables
• Interests expressed by our US Associate Editor
group

4. What content areas have we
done so far?
— Diabetes (using content from Metabolic &
Endocrine and Wounds CRGs)
— COPD (Airways Group)
— Common cold, Sore throat, Flu, Otitis
media (ARI & ENT Group)
— Acute pain such as Migraine (Pain,
Palliative & Supportive Care) CRG
— Coming next: Dementia, Musculoskeletal,
Neurology (starting with Stroke),
Preventative medicine

5. How do we ‘build’ a CCA?
• Every CCA follows a defined template designed by the
Cochrane Editorial Unit
• Quantitative data are automatically extracted from Data
and Analysis section of Cochrane review using a program
developed specifically for the purpose
• Qualitative data are manually extracted from the Cochrane
review by CCA Editor
• Every Clinical Answer drafted by a clinician Associate
Editor, edited by the CCA Editor, and signed off by David
Tovey, Editor in Chief

6. The CCA website: a ‘walk
through’
—Design developed by Wiley web team
in response to brief based on market
research conducted in US and NZ by
Wiley and augmented and approved
by Rachel Marshall and David Tovey
of the Cochrane Editorial Unit

7. New CCAs published when
ready
Clinical Answers updated in line with any
Subject headings match those updates of the review on which they are
of the Cochrane Library browse based
list

8. Search functionality is in line New users get a sample ‘taster’ CCA to
with the new Cochrane search allow them to assess content quality
before purchase

9. Data are presented by comparison
with the option to click to reveal …

10. Any known Safety
concerns with the
intervention are at
the forefront of the
display
This information is taken from
the Characteristics of Included
studies and describes people
and interventions included in
the trials only (rather than
what was searched for) so that
the clinical relevance of the
data to the patient being
treated by the clinician can be
seen immediately. Lack of data
in clinically important
populations is also highlighted

11. Outcome data for each comparison
are displayed in a consistent format

12. Results
An automatically generated
summary based on the data in
the Relative effects section
Data from the Forest plot of the
Cochrane review with a link to
the Forest plot graphic
Absolute effect estimated from
the Relative effect using
calculation formula within the
program that extracts data from
Data and Analysis section of
Cochrane review
Link to the full text of the
Cochrane review on which the
CCA is based

13. The Editorial
team
— Associate editors
— Most are currently practicing clinicians. They write the short answer for each
Cochrane Clinical Answer, combining their clinical expertise with the
randomized controlled trial data from Cochrane reviews.
— Editor: Karen Pettersen
— Karen joined John Wiley & Sons Ltd. in January 2012 to work on the project
to develop Cochrane Clinical Answers. Karen has extensive experience of
systematic reviewing, having been involved with the BMJ Publishing
Group’s EBM journal, Clinical Evidence, since its inception in 1999, starting
as an Information Specialist for the journal and working as Deputy Editor for
five years. Karen has editorial oversight of each CCA, extracting and
summarizing outcome data to supplement the python script automatic data
extraction, liaising with the Associate Editors to complete the draft Clinical
Answer, and responding to suggestions made by David Tovey during his
sign off
— Editor in Chief: David Tovey
— Dr Tovey signs off each Cochrane Clinical Answer before publication.

14. Any questions?
Email kpettersen@wiley.com