Who we are | Cochrane Iberoamérica

The Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre (CCIb) is one of the international Cochrane centres. Its scope of activity covers the Iberoamerican Cochrane Network, which includes Spain and 18 other Spanish-speaking countries in Iberoamerica.

The CCIb is functionally and physically integrated within the department of Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health at the historic Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona. Moreover, it is part of the Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute (IIB-Sant Pau, officially accredited by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III), along with other healthcare, scientific and academic institutions (Fundació de Gestió Sanitària de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Fundació Privada de l'Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Fundació Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Fundació Puigvert, Consorci Institut Català de Ciències Cardiovasculars, Banc de Sang i Teixits de Catalunya, Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona and CAP Sardenya).

In addition to the support from the Hospital de Sant Pau, the CCIb receives financial support to carry out its activities from a wide variety of sources, mainly public sources , participating in the diverse calls for competitive tendering and projects. In accordance with Cochrane's current policy, the CCIb does not accept commercial funding to finance the development of Cochrane systematic reviews or any other activity with which conflict of interests may occur.

For legal purposes, the CCIb is represented by the Asociación Colaboración Cochrane Iberoamericana, a non-profit scientific entity with tax ID number G-61808457. This association has recently driven the establishment of the Institute for Clinical and Healthcare Excellence (INPECS in Spanish) to broaden and adapt Cochrane's experience to further complementary activities.

History

The Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre (CCIb) was formally registered as the Spanish Cochrane Centre in 1997, when it was located at the Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí in Sabadell (Barcelona). The new headquarters of the renamed Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre was officially inaugurated in the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona in June 2000. The change of the name, approved by Cochrane Collaboration's Steering Group, involved the strategic commitment of the new Centre to foster and develop activities across the Iberoamerican region.

Activities and function

Within Cochrane, the CCIb assumes the following responsibilities:

1. Direction and coordination of the Iberoamerican Cochrane Network

To promote the activities of Cochrane throughout the region.
To reach agreements and forge alliances with public institutions to ensure sustainability of Cochrane activities without limiting its independence.

2. Training and methological support activities

To provide logistical, methodological and linguistic support to people within the Network interested in developing a Cochrane review and to review groups in the region.
To develop online or in-person training activities on the methodology of systematic reviews.
To maintain a short stay programme for advanced reviewers.
To provide training for people who will take on tasks of training in their respective institutions or countries.

3. Knowledge translation and dissemination activities

To develop dissemination projects and activities for the general public.
To develop knowledge translation activities targeting healthcare workers and researchers.
To facilitate dissemination of the activities carried out in scientific conferences and meeting in the Network's different countries.
To keep up to date Cochrane Iberoamerica's website .
To periodically pusblish a newsletter for the Iberoamerican Cochrane Network.

4. Translation activities

To monitor the Spanish translation and editing of the Cochrane Library (Biblioteca Cochrane).
To maintain the necessary institutional contacts to ensure the most unrestricted access possible to the Biblioteca Cochrane in Spain as well as Iberoamerica.
To translate some of Cochrane's training and dissemination products.
To support the translation of surveys, reports and other initiatives to enhace diversity and inclusion within Cochrane.
To keep an updated translation of Cochrane's methodological handbooks.

5. Search of clinical trials

To develop activities for hand searches of clinical trials in science journals published in the Spanish language.
To consult, as much as possible, national clinical trial registries.
To send all identified trials to Cochrane's CENTRAL registry of clinical trials.

6. Other activities

To develop activities related to evidence-based healthcare that may contribute to boost and maintain the Network and the Centre.