Our logo tells a story...

The circle formed by two ‘C’ shapes represents our global collaboration. The lines within illustrate the summary results from an iconic systematic review. Each horizontal line represents the results of one study, while the diamond represents the combined result, our best estimate of whether the treatment is effective or harmful. The diamond sits clearly to the left of the vertical line representing “no difference”, therefore the evidence indicates that the treatment is beneficial. We call this representation a “forest plot”.

This forest plot within our logo illustrates an example of the potential for systematic reviews to improve health care. It shows that corticosteroids given to women who are about to give birth prematurely can save the life of the newborn child. Despite several trials showing the benefit of corticosteroids, adoption of the treatment among obstetricians was slow. The systematic review (originally published by Crowley et al. and subsequently updated) was influential in increasing use of this treatment. This simple intervention has probably saved thousands of premature babies.

Read here: Wearing Cochrane evidence: a personal story of impact