What Is the Cochrane Collaboration?

Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care (PaPaS) Review Group

Information Leaflet

What is the Cochrane Collaboration?

An international organisation which aims to "prepare, maintain and disseminate systematic reviews of the effects of health care". A systematic review is a method of identifying, selecting and critically appraising all relevant research on a particular topic, and therefore in relation to health care represents the 'best available evidence' for a particular treatment.

Where can I access this evidence?

Reviews and protocols are published on The Cochrane Library database by our publishers, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The Library is available by subscription as a DVD or online, and some countries have free online access paid for by their government.

How does the Collaboration work?

The Collaboration is organised into 53 topic-based 'Review Groups' (22 are located in the UK), each addressing a particular subject area. The Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Review Group (PaPaS) is one such group and has its editorial base at the Pain Research Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford.

What topics does PaPaS cover?

PaPaS aims to review evidence about the effectiveness of studies of interventions for:

· Acute pain arising accidentally or through deliberate injury;

· Chronic pain (lasting 3 months or longer);

· Headache and migraine;

· Palliative care for those with life-limiting disease or illness;

· Supportive care of patients and significant others living with serious illness.

You can read more on our website, or on The Cochrane Library Review Group page.

Who does the research?

The PaPaS editorial office is based in Oxford and is led by the Co-ordinating Editor, Chris Eccleston, with the workload managed and administered by the Managing Editor, Anna Hobson, Assistant Managing Editors, Yvonne Roy and Rebecca Gray, and the Trials Search Co-ordinator, Joanne Abbott.

In addition, PaPaS has an international team of Editors and peer referees, clinical experts, a statistician, health care professionals and consumers, who support and advise review authors.

Finally, and most importantly, the group currently has over 1400 contributors world-wide who are actively involved in the development of PaPaS systematic reviews.

How is the work funded?

The PaPaS editorial office in Oxford is funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) in the United Kingdom as part of the Research and Development programme. However, review authors, editors, and peer referees are self-funding, and the majority of review authors undertake a systematic review in their own research time.

PaPaS is one of 53 review groups specialising in different areas of health, based in different countries around the world. The group The Cochrane Collaboration is dedicated to providing up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare that is readily available worldwide.

Contact Information Form

If you would like more information, or would like to know how to become a contributor to PaPaS, as an author, peer referee, consumer referee or other role, please complete our Contact Information Form on the 'Contact Us' page on our website, and return it via email to .

Tel: +44 (0)1865 225762 Fax +44 (0)1865 252400

The PaPaS website: www.papas.cochrane.org

The Cochrane Library: www.thecochranelibrary.com

Access to all Cochrane reviews: www.cochrane.org/reviews