3.2.1.5 Core functions of Cochrane Review Groups

General statement

A Cochrane Review Group’s primary role is to prepare and maintain reviews of ways to prevent and treat health problems, and ways to rehabilitate people who have health problems, within a particular health care area.

Specific core functions

The essential core functions of CRGs are:

1.  To focus on a particular health problem or healthcare area.
2. To prepare and maintain reviews of ways to prevent and treat the health problem, and ways to rehabilitate people who have the health problem.
3. To ensure reviews are comprehensible to the non-specialist and use outcomes that matter to people making choices in health care.
4. To maximise the quality of reviews.
5. For the editorial bases to create, maintain, and submit a CRG module on a quarterly basis.
6. For the editorial bases to develop and maintain a Specialized Register, containing all relevant studies in their area of interest, and submit this to CENTRAL on a quarterly basis.
7. For the editorial base to contribute to maintaining the Cochrane Contact Database.
8. For the editorial base to support the CRG’s members (e.g. authors, consumers, editors).
9. To avoid duplication of effort across the Collaboration, particularly between other CRGs.
10. To enable wide participation in the work of the CRG by reducing barriers to contributing, encouraging diversity, and involving people with different skills and backgrounds.
11. To ensure effective and efficient communication between CRG members.
12. To communicate effectively with the reference Cochrane Centre, the Consumer Network, and relevant Fields and Methods Groups.
13. To ensure sustainability and continuity of the CRG’s programme of work.