Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group, Australian Satellite

Clinical Epidemiology - Cabrini

A/Prof Rachelle Buchbinder, Dr Renea Johnston

The Department was recently awarded a Commonwealth Government grant to establish an Australian Satellite for the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group (CMSG). The CMSG, based in Ottawa, Canada, prepares systematic reviews of interventions for the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. The CMSG also focuses on translating the results of these reviews into user-friendly formats, making them more accessible to clinicians and consumers. This translation from research to practice enables the use of review results in health care decisions.

The Australian Satellite will facilitate greater involvement in the Cochrane Collaboration among Australian researchers, healthcare professionals and consumer representatives with an interest in musculoskeletal conditions. In addition to improving the speed at which reviews are produced and the number of reviews written by Australian authors, the Satellite will increase the capacity of researchers to reach clinicians, policymakers and consumers. Through presentations and workshops there will be more widespread dissemination of the findings of the systematic reviews and this should lead to better health outcomes for people with musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis.