Cochrane collaboration in Poland

Evidence-based approach to decision making in clinical practice is not new in Poland. First workshops on evidence-based medicine (EBM) were held in Poland at the end of 1990s. Cochrane Collaboration, one of the main initiatives derived from a common trunk of EBM, promotes making decisions on the basis of reliable and up-to-date scientific information (evidence) derived from Cochrane systematic reviews. The Cochrane Collaboration is an international non-for-profit organization that acts as a network of cooperating persons involved in health care (including researchers, practitioners, and patients). The Cochrane Collaboration promotes decision making based on reliable and up- to date-evidence (EBM) by producing high-quality Cochrane systematic reviews by the members of the organization. The organization was established in 1993 and has been continuously growing since then. Still not many people in Poland are involved in Cochrane reviews and other activities of the organization. Therefore, there was a need to establish a center that could stimulate and support the involvement also of Polish researchers, physicians, and other people involved in health care in the activities of the Cochrane Collaboration. The article presents the structure of the organization, its objectives and principles that underlie its activity, and describes the aims and activities of the Cochrane Branch in Poland.