New online learning is now freely available about Consumer involvement in Cochrane as part of its Evidence Essentials modules.

Cochrane is delighted to announce the launch of a new module Consumer involvement in Cochrane as part of its  Cochrane Evidence Essentials free, online learning.

Written from the perspective of a healthcare consumer and co-created with patients and carers, this learning is for anyone interested in finding out about getting involved in Cochrane, as a patient, a carer, or member of the public (what Cochrane calls consumers).

Topics included in the module include a 'Welcome to Cochrane' section, a description of the different ways to contribute to systematic reviews evidence and to Cochrane, and how to sign-up to get involved. The learning is interactive, with quizzes, animations, and ways to check your knowledge.

This module is the latest in Cochrane’s “Evidence Essentials” that gives an introduction to Evidence Based Medicine, clinical trials, systematic reviews and how to use evidence when making decisions about your health. The modules have been visited over 35,000 times since their launch, and have now been translated into German and Russian, with other languages to follow.

Cochrane’s Consumer Engagement Officer, Richard Morley welcomed the launch of the latest module:

“Cochrane has a long history and commitment to involvement and engagement as an essential part of producing trusted evidence that can be used in making informed decisions and improving health. This latest module in the Evidence Essentials series has been co-designed and produced with consumers and puts into one exciting place all the information you might want to know in order to be a part of our growing global community.”

Lynn Laidlaw and Sally Crowe who facilitated the engagement process and wrote the initial content based on feedback from patients, carers and public, said: “We are very pleased that the final version launched today represents much of the discussion over two workshops.  We feel that this module is more attuned to people that may never have heard of Cochrane before, but are curious and potentially interested in getting involved in the production of Cochrane evidence”.

There are five interactive modules that make up Evidence Essentials: an introduction to Evidence Based Medicine, Randomized Controlled Trials, Introduction to systematic reviews, Understanding and using systematic reviews and the latest, Consumer involvement in Cochrane. The learning journey is led by Eleni, a fictional consumer.

• Modules are free to use, with a Cochrane account and are found at https://training.cochrane.org/essentials