History
The following is a chronology of The Cochrane Collaboration:
| October 2011 | 18th Cochrane Colloquium, Madrid, Spain |
| April 2011 | Mid-year meeting of the Steering Group and management committees in Split, Croatia Collaboration strategic session on enabling wide participation |
| October 2010 | Joint Colloquium of the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations in Keystone, CO, USA Meeting of elected Steering Group in Keystone, CO, USA Publication of The Cochrane Collaboration's first Annual Report |
| September 2010 | Justice Health Field registered Comparing Multiple Interventions Methods Group registered |
| June 2010 | French Cochrane Centre registered |
| March 2010 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Auckland, New Zealand |
| December 2009 | Campbell and Cochrane Equity Methods Group registered |
| October 2009 | 17th Cochrane Colloquium in Singapore Meeting of elected Steering Group in Singapore |
June 2009 | The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) was ranked 12 out of 107 worldwide journals in ISI Thomson's Medicine, General and Internal category for journals, with an Impact Factor of 5.182 for 2008 |
| April 2009 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Vedbaek, Denmark |
| March 2009 | Nursing Care Field registered |
| January 2009 | The total number of published Cochrane reviews and protocols reached 5,676 in Issue 1, 2009 of The Cochrane Library |
| October 2008 | 16th Cochrane Colloquium in Freiburg, Germany Meeting of elected Steering Group in Freiburg |
| July 2008 | South Asian Cochrane Centre registered |
| June 2008 | The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) was ranked 14 out of 100 worldwide journals in ISI Thomson's Medicine, General and Internal category for journals, with an Impact Factor of 4.654 for 2007 |
| April 2008 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Vellore, India Public Health Group registered |
| February 2008 | Prognosis Methods Group registered |
| October 2007 | 15th Cochrane Colloquium in São Paulo, Brazil Meeting of elected Steering Group in São Paulo, Brazil |
| April 2007 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
| February 2007 | National access to The Cochrane Library in India |
| December 2006 | Developing Countries Network registered (changed to Developing Countries Field in March 2010) |
| October 2006 | 14th Cochrane Colloquium in Dublin, Ireland Meeting of elected Steering Group in Dublin, Ireland |
| May 2006 | Childhood Cancer Group registered |
| April 2006 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Khon Kaen, Thailand |
| October 2005 | 13th Cochrane Colloquium in Melbourne, Australia Meeting of elected Steering Group in Melbourne, Australia |
| July 2005 | Health Equity Field registered |
| March/April 2005 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Providence, USA |
| January 2005 | National access to The Cochrane Library in Sweden |
| October 2004 | 12th Cochrane Colloquium in Ottawa, Canada Meeting of elected Steering Group in Ottawa, Canada |
| July 2004 | The total number of published Cochrane reviews reached 2,000 in Issue 3, 2004 of The Cochrane Library |
| 29 February - 2 March 2004 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Bergamo, Italy |
| January 2004 | The Cochrane Collaboration was awarded the 2004 Premio Homenot Internacional de la Sanidad for excellence in healthcare research at an Awards Ceremony in the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, Spain. The ceremony was attended by both the Spanish and the Catalonian Ministers of Health. Previous winners of this prestigious award include BMJ and the Harvard School of Public Health. In her speech, Sra Ana Pastor, Minister of Health for Spain, praised The Cochrane Collaboration "for its magnificent work and contributions by performing systematic reviews of health interventions and facilitating the accessibility of these to health professionals and to citizens". In his speech of acknowledgement on behalf of all recipients of awards at the ceremony, Dr Felipe Sánchez de la Cuesta, pharmacologist and winner of the Homenot Nacional award for 2003, remarked "we will never be grateful enough to The Cochrane Collaboration for its efforts and initiatives in promoting evidence-based medicine" |
| December 2003 | National access to The Cochrane Library in Denmark Meeting of elected Steering Group in Freiburg, Germany |
| Oct 2003 | 11th Cochrane Colloquium in Barcelona, Spain Meeting of elected Steering Group in Barcelona, Spain Launch of Cochrane Library Plus en espanol |
| June 2003 | The total number of published Cochrane protocols and reviews reached 3,000. |
| April 2003 | Chief Executive Officer appointed to The Cochrane Collaboration |
| March 2003 | New publishing agreement signed between The Cochrane Collaboration and John Wiley and Sons Limited Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Melbourne, Australia The Methodology Review Group changed from being a Methods Group to a Collaborative Review Group, becoming The Cochrane Collaboration's fiftieth Collaborative Review Group |
| Oct 2002 | The Cochrane Library was made free at the point of use to anyone with Internet access in Australia |
| Sept 2002 | Closure of French Cochrane Centre |
| July/Aug 2002 | 10th Cochrane Colloquium in Stavanger, Norway Meeting of elected Steering Group in Stavanger, Norway |
| Apr 2002 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Chengdu, China The Cochrane Library was made free at the point of use to anyone with Internet access in England (via the National Electronic Library for Health - NeLH) The Cochrane Library was made free at the point of use for access under the HINARI scheme for developing countries |
| Mar 2002 | The Cochrane Library was made free at the point of use to anyone with Internet access in Finland and Norway Special issue of 'Evaluation and the Health Professions' published on The Cochrane Collaboration |
| Feb 2002 | At the launch of island of Ireland access, Ms Bairbre de Brún (Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Northern Ireland) said, "This is a very welcome and important development. Making quality health information available to the general public in an easily accessible way is a key priority". Micheál Martin (Minister for Health and Children, Ireland) said, "Anyone on the island of Ireland with access to the Internet will now be able to use what is regarded as the world's best single source of evidence on the effects of different forms of health care". |
| Jan 2002 | The South African Medical Journal adopted a policy (similar to The Lancet in June 2001) of co-publication of Cochrane Reviews (SAMJ 2002;92(1):1) The Cochrane Library was made free at the point of use to anyone with Internet access on the island of Ireland (the first country-wide access to The Cochrane Library) |
| Dec 2001 | Chris Silagy, former Chair of the Steering Group, died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 'Informing Judgment: Case studies of health policy and research in six countries', co-published with the Milbank Memorial Fund, 2001, 200 pages |
| Nov 2001 | Placebo Methods Group disbanded |
| Oct 2001 | 9th Cochrane Colloquium in Lyon, France Meeting of elected Steering Group in Lyon, France |
| Jun 2001 | The Lancet adopted the policy of accepting submissions of reviews already on The Cochrane Library (Lancet 2001;359:1729) |
| May 2001 | Health-Related Quality of Life Methods Group registered (changed to Patient Reported Outcomes Methods Group in March 2005) |
| Feb 2001 | Reporting Bias Methods Group registered Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Sao Paulo,Brazil |
| Jan 2001 | One thousandth Cochrane review published in The Cochrane Library |
| Nov 2000 | Information Retrieval Methods Group disbanded Informatics Methods Group disbanded |
| Oct 2000 | Hematological Malignancies Group registered 8th Cochrane Colloquium in Cape Town, South Africa Meeting of elected Steering Group in Cape Town, South Africa |
| Jul 2000 | San Antonio Cochrane Centre closed |
| Mar 2000 | Neurological Network registered (changed to Neurological Field in March 2010) Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in San Antonio, Texas, USA |
| Feb 2000 | Child Health Field registered Anaesthesia Group registered Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders Group registered British Secretary of State for Education and Employment announces the establishment of a new Centre for Evidence-informed Policy and Practice to "build on the very successful Cochrane Collaboration in health care research", drawing attention to the quality control of systematic reviews "being pioneered through The Cochrane Collaboration initiative and the proposed Campbell Collaboration". Inaugural meeting of the Campbell Collaboration convened by Robert Boruch at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (see http://www.campbellcollaboration.com/) |
| Nov 1999 | Non-Randomised Studies Methods Group registered |
| Oct 1999 | 7th Cochrane Colloquium in Rome, Italy Meeting of elected Steering Group in Rome, Italy First discussions held about establishing joint Cochrane-Campbell Methods Groups |
| July 1999 | July 1999 Exploratory meeting at the School of Public Policy, University College London decides to establish the Campbell Collaboration - a sibling collaboration to The Cochrane Collaboration - to prepare, maintain and disseminate systematic reviews of social and educational interventions (see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/spp/publications/campbell.htm) |
| May 1999 | Prospective Meta-analysis Methods Group registered |
| Mar 1999 | Chinese Cochrane Centre registered |
| Jan 1999 | The BMJ adopted the policy of accepting submissions of reviews already on The Cochrane Library (BMJ 1999;318:142) |
| Dec 1998 | Back Group registered |
| Nov 1998 | Sexually Transmitted Diseases Group registered |
| Oct 1998 | 6th Cochrane Colloquium in Baltimore, USA Meeting of elected Steering Group in Baltimore, USA Collaboration Trading Company Limited registered under English law |
| Sept 1998 | Lung Cancer Group registered Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders Group registered Health Economics Methods Group registered (changed to Economics Methods Group in July 2005) |
| July 1998 | Heart Group registered Musculoskeletal Injuries Group registered (changed to Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group in April 2005) |
| June 1998 | Upper Gastrointestinal & Pancreatic Diseases Group registered Academy of UK Medical Royal Colleges officially recognises systematic reviews as academically important research |
| Mar 1998 | Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group registered HIV/AIDS Group registered Neuromuscular Diseases Group registered Reprint of Cochrane's 'Effectiveness and Efficiency' with an introduction and forward by the directors of the Australasian and UK Cochrane Centres respectively |
| Feb 1998 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in Cape Town, South Africa |
| Jan 1998 | Drugs and Alcohol Group registered Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Group registered Colorectal Cancer Group registered |
| Dec 1997 | Multiple Sclerosis Group registered Skin Group registered Increasing acknowledgements that The Cochrane Library is the best single source of evidence about the effects of health care, and that The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register is the most comprehensive register of controlled trials available |
| Nov 1997 | GlaxoWellcome announces intention to register prospectively all the company's ongoing trials through The Cochrane Collaboration |
| Oct 1997 | 5th Cochrane Colloquium in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (in association with the 2nd meeting on the 'Scientific Basis of Health Services') Meeting of elected Steering Group in Amsterdam, The Netherlands Centro Cochrane Español (Spanish Cochrane Centre) registered (name changed to Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre in July 2000) Deutsches Cochrane Zentrum (German Cochrane Centre) registered Consumers and Communication Group registered |
| Sept 1997 | Research presented showing that Cochrane Reviews are methodologically superior to and less subject to publication bias than reviews published in the major print journals |
| June 1997 | Fertility Regulation Group registered Cancer Network registered (deregistered in November 2009) |
| Apr 1997 | Electronic Comments and Criticisms System launched within The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Eyes and Vision Group registered |
| Mar 1997 | 'Random Reflections on Health Services Research' published to mark the 25th anniversary of Cochrane's 'Effectiveness and Efficiency' Renal Group registered |
| Feb 1997 | Mid-year meeting of Steering Group, Centre Directors and others in San Francisco, USA Injuries Group registered |
| Jan 1997 | Cochrane Collaboration and Update Software sign Special Agreement Applicability and Recommendations Methods Group registered |
| Dec 1996 | Prostatic Diseases and Urologic Cancers Group registered |
| Nov 1996 | Gynaecological Cancer Group registered Schering Health Care Ltd. provides The Cochrane Collaboration with information about all the company's ongoing trials |
| Oct 1996 | 4th Cochrane Colloquium in Adelaide, Australia Meeting of elected Steering Group in Adelaide, Australia South African Cochrane Centre registered |
| Sept 1996 | The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews available on the World Wide Web Epilepsy Group registered Breast Cancer Group registered |
| Aug 1996 | Strategic Planning Meeting in Oslo, Norway; 2nd meeting of elected Steering Group Centro Cochrane do Brasil (Brazilian Cochrane Centre) registered Placebo Effects Methods Group registered |
| July 1996 | Vaccines Field registered |
| June 1996 | Movement Disorders Group registered Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Group registered Incontinence Group registered Complementary Medicine Field registered President of the Royal Statistical Society proposes 'analogues' of The Cochrane Collaboration to assess the effects of social and educational interventions, and thus improve the quality of public debate on these issues as well as on health care |
| May 1996 | New England Cochrane Centre registered Hypertension Group registered |
| Apr 1996 | The Cochrane Library launched by Update Software as a quarterly publication on CD-ROM and disk, incorporating The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness, The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and The Cochrane Review Methodology Database Rehabilitation and Related Therapies Field registered Health Care of Older People Field registered |
| Mar 1996 | Hepato-Biliary Group registered Trials Registers Development Group initiated |
| Feb 1996 | Last meeting of first Steering Group and first meeting of elected Steering Group in San Francisco, USA Centre Cochrane Français (French Cochrane Centre) registered |
| Jan 1996 | Health Promotion Field registered |
| Nov 1995 | Elections for new Steering Group Funds awarded to the Collaboration by the European Union for 'coordinating and extending the preparation, maintenance and dissemination of systematic reviews of health care within The Cochrane Collaboration in Europe 'UK Higher Education Funding Councils list systematic reviews (of the Cochrane type) among the quality criteria for the 1996 Research Assessment exercise |
| Oct 1995 | 3rd Cochrane Colloquium in Oslo, Norway Meeting of Steering Group in Oslo, Norway Consumer Network registered |
| Sept 1995 | Cystic Fibrosis Group registered |
| Aug 1995 | Tobacco Addiction Group registered Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Group registered (changed to Dementia & Cognitive Improvement in May 2000) Menstrual Disorders Group registered Screening and Diagnostic Tests Methods Group registered |
| July 1995 | Airways Group registered Coding and Classification Methods Group registered |
| May 1995 | Cochrane Collaboration registered as a Company and a Charity under English law |
| Apr 1995 | The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews launched in London by the English Minister for Health San Antonio Cochrane Centre registered Wounds Group registered Article in The Lancet suggests that "The Cochrane Collaboration is an enterprise that rivals the Human Genome Project in its potential implications for modern medicine" |
| Feb 1995 | Software Development Group established Inflammatory Bowel Disease Group registered (changed to Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Functional Bowel Disorders Group in April 2005) |
| Dec 1994 | Empirical Methodological Studies Methods Group registered Informatics Methods Group registered Statistics and Quality of RCT's Methods Group registered Individual Patient Data Meta-analyses Methods Group registered |
| Nov 1994 | Diabetes Group registered San Francisco Cochrane Centre registered (changed to United States Cochrane Center, San Francisco Branch in December 2002) |
| Oct 1994 | 2nd Cochrane Colloquium, Hamilton, Canada Meeting of Steering Group, Hamilton, Canada First public demonstration of The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, designed by Update Software Dutch Cochrane Centre registered Peripheral Vascular Disease Group registered |
| Aug 1994 | Acute Respiratory Infections Group registered |
| July 1994 | Effective Professional Practice Group registered (changed to Effective Practice & Organisation of Care in March 1998) |
| June 1994 | Centro Cochrane Italiano (Italian Cochrane Centre) registered Oral Health Group registered Schizophrenia Group registered |
| May 1994 | Publication of Cochrane Collaboration Handbook Release of Version 1 of Review Manager (RevMan) software Infectious Diseases Group registered |
| Feb 1994 | First meeting of Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Australasian Cochrane Centre registered |
| Dec 1993 | Funds awarded by the European Union to the Cochrane Centres in Europe 'to identify reports of controlled trials in general health care journals in Europe' US National Library of Medicine agrees to improve the identification of controlled trials by re tagging MEDLINE records using information provided by The Cochrane Collaboration |
| Nov 1993 | Musculoskeletal Group registered |
| Oct 1993 | Formal launch of The Cochrane Collaboration at the 1st Cochrane Colloquium, in Oxford, UK Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group nominated and appointed by participants at the 1st Colloquium Nordic Cochrane Centre registered Baltimore Cochrane Centre registered (changed to New England Cochrane Center at Providence and subsequently to United States Cochrane Center in December 2002) Collaboration in Primary Health Care Field registered (changed to Primary Health Care Field in August 2004) |
| Aug 1993 | Stroke Group registered Canadian Cochrane Centre registered |
| June 1993 | Development of Cochrane Collaboration Handbook begins with arrival of 1st Cochrane Visiting Fellow at the UK Cochrane Centre |
| Mar 1993 | First Cochrane Centre renamed 'The UK Cochrane Centre' Concept of The Cochrane Collaboration presented at a conference ('Doing more Good than Harm') organised by Kenneth Warren and Frederic Mosteller at the New York Academy of Sciences |
| Apr 1993 | Update Software reissues 'The Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials (ODPT)' as a redesigned pilot electronic journal entitled 'The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Database (CCPC)' |
| Mar 1993 | Neonatal Group registered |
| Nov 1992 | Additional funds to promote the mission of the Cochrane Centre pledged by the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust and the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care |
| Oct 1992 | 'The Cochrane Centre' opens in Oxford, UK Pregnancy and Childbirth Group registered Subfertility Group registered |
| Feb 1992 | Encouraged by the reception given to the systematic reviews of care during pregnancy and childbirth, Michael Peckham, first Director of Research & Development in the British National Health Service, approves funding for 'a Cochrane Centre' 'to facilitate the preparation of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials of health care' |
| 1992 | Publication of 'Effective Care of the Newborn Infant (ECNI)' |
| 1989-92 | Maintenance of systematic reviews of controlled trials of perinatal care in 6-monthly disk issues of an electronic journal, 'The Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials (ODPT)' |
| 1989 | Output of collaborative work begins with publication of: 'Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth (ECPC)', 'A Guide to Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth (GECPC)', and 'The Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials (ODPT)' |
| 1985-90 | International collaboration to prepare systematic reviews of controlled trials in pregnancy and childbirth and the neonatal period |
| 1985 | Publication of classified bibliography of 3500 reports of controlled trials in perinatal medicine published between 1940 and 1984 US Public Health Service and English Department of Health fund work in Oxford and Baltimore to identify unpublished controlled trials in perinatal medicine and to investigate publication bias |
| 1979 | Archie Cochrane publishes an essay in which he suggests that "It is surely a great criticism of our profession that we have not organised a critical summary, by specialty or subspecialty, adapted periodically, of all relevant randomised controlled trials." He also designates obstetrics the least scientific medical specialty! |
| 1978 | World Health Organisation and English Department of Health fund work at National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, UK to assemble a register of controlled trials in perinatal medicine |
| 1976 | Outline plans drafted in Cardiff, Wales, UK for systematic reviews of controlled trials in perinatal medicine |
| 1974 | Identification of controlled trials in perinatal medicine begins in Cardiff, Wales, UK |
| 1972 | Publication of Archie Cochrane's 'Effectiveness and Efficiency: random reflections on health services' , which drew attention to our collective ignorance about the effects of health care |
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