Synthesizing

This working group has been focused on supporting efforts to synthesize the evidence that already exists in ways that are more coordinated and efficient and that balance quality and timeliness. After a series of important achievements, it is now on stand-by and willing to take on exciting new opportunities to make a difference.

Terms of reference

1. Contribute to the development and maintenance of the resources and tools for researchers considering and conducting COVID-19 evidence syntheses and encouraging its use by researchers and evidence users to avoid unnecessary duplication
2. Encourage updating or extending existing reviews in conjunction with other interested groups within and beyond COVID-END
3. Share evidence tables that can be used in local guideline-development processes (or local evidence-contextualization processes more generally)
4. Identify and promote guidance and expectations for conducting and reporting all the different forms of evidence synthesis that may be used to inform decisions and address issues related to COVID-19
5. Promote and share the quality assurance, publishing, translation and other benefits that come from working with major international evidence producers and publishers and considering how these should be applied in the context of COVID-19
6. Draft guidance for and promote living reviews (and living guidelines) where appropriate as an emerging standard for evidence synthesis in the context of COVID-19, ensuring that these encompass different content areas, intervention and review types

Participants

1. David Tovey, COVID-END Secretariat (co-chair)
2. Taryn Young, Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Stellenbosch University, South Africa (co-chair)
3. Andrea Tricco, SPOR Evidence Alliance, Canada
4. Birte Snilsveit, 3IE, UK
5. Cristián Mansilla, McMaster University, Canada
6. Cheow Peng Ooi, University of Putra, Malaysia
7. David Nunan, Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, UK
8. Edoardo Aromataris, Joanna Briggs Institute, Australia
9. Elie Akl, Systematic Review Centre for Health Policy and Systems, AUB, Lebanon
10. Kamga Emmanuel Berinyuy, eBase, Cameroon
11. Karla Soares-Weiser, Cochrane, Israel
12. Gabriel Rada, Epistemonikos, Chile
13. Gunn Vist, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway
14. Isabelle Boutron, Cochrane France, France
15. Nikita Burke, Cochrane Ireland, Ireland
16. Simon Lewin, Norwegian Institute for Public Health, Norway
17. Stephanie Chang, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, USA
18. Vivian Welch, Campbell Collaboration, Canada
19. Secretariat: Safa Al-Khateeb, McMaster Health Forum

Meeting documents