About the Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group

The Cochrane Review Group on HIV/AIDS is one of 50 Collaborative Review Groups (CRGs) of the Cochrane Collaboration. Established in 1992, the Cochrane Collaboration is an international network of health care professionals, researchers and consumers committed to developing and maintaining comprehensive, regularly updated systematic reviews of health care interventions in a given medical specialty. Cochrane systematic reviews contain synthesized results from Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and are designed to help the public make informed healthcare decisions based on the best scientific evidence available. These are published online quarterly in The Cochrane Library. Established in 1997, the Cochrane HIV/AIDS group brings together individuals from around the world who share an interest in writing, disseminating and updating systematic reviews of rigorous HIV/AIDS research. In a field evolving as rapidly as HIV and AIDS, the best evidence for treatment and prevention decisions may not always be clear. This is especially true outside of the major urban AIDS centers in the developing world and in countries in the developing world. Cochrane systematic reviews on HIV/AIDS topics assist clinicians, public health practitioners, policy makers and consumers in making evidence-based decisions about HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment and provide direct translation of cutting-edge research into practice.

The primary responsibilities of the Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group include:

  • Identification and assembly of a specialized registry of all trials and controlled studies within the scope of the Group.
  • Preparation and maintenance of Systematic Reviews.
  • Preparation of quarterly submissions for the Cochrane Library (planned and completed reviews
  • Dissemination of reviews produced by the Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group and information about the Cochrane Collaboration and the Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group.

Editorial Base:

The Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group is organized around an Editorial Base led by Coordinating Editor Dr. George Rutherford of the University of California, San Francisco, USA (UCSF). The Review Group’s Coordinator is Ms. Gail Kennedy (UCSF). Ms. Tara Horváth (UCSF) is Assistant Coordinator. At our Satellite Editorial Base at South African Cochrane Centre (SACC), Dr. Nandi Siegfried is Deputy Coordinating Editor. Ms. Joy Oliver is Assistant Coordinator; she also serves as Trials Search Coordinator, along with Ms. Elizabeth Pienaar.

Editorial Board:

Editors

  • Consumer Editor: Mr. Kevin Osborne (International Planned Parenthood Federation, UK)
  • Consumer Editor: Ms. Claire Rappoport (UCSF)
  • Criticism Editor: Dr. Carlos Cáceres (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru)
  • Methods Editor: Dr. Sona Saha (Berkeley Systematic Reviews Group)
  • Statistical Editor (Africa): Dr. Lize van der Merwe (South African Cochrane Centre)

Working Group Editors

Treatment, Diagnostics and Prognostics

  • Dr. John Ioannidis (University of Ioannina)
  • Dr. Gary Maartens (University of Cape Town)

Behavioral, Social and Policy Prevention

  • Dr. Don Operario (Oxford)
  • Dr. Tom Coates (UCLA)

Biomedical Prevention

  • Dr. John Kaldor (University of New South Wales)

Health Care Services

  • Dr. Rick Glazier (University of Toronto)

Consumer participation in the Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group

Consumer advocacy groups such as the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) and the Global Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (GNP +) have been instrumental in the development and growth of the Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group. These groups have helped to identify the HIV/AIDS Group's consumer editor whose responsibilities include representing consumers internationally and offering guidance to the identification of high priority reviews to be conducted. In addition, the consumer editor is charged with refereeing all abstracts of completed reviews and overseeing the creation of synopses of completed reviews which will be disseminated via our Web Site and will offer a brief overview of the review.

If you are interested to learn more about the role of consumers in the Cochrane Collaboration, please visit the Cochrane Consumers Network Web Site.

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