This initiative has been launched, to enable free access to the latest, scientifically confirmed medical information for all citizens of Croatia. It was presented at a press conference marking World Evidence-Based Healthcare Day at School of Medicine.
We live in an era of hyper-production of all kinds of information, including health-related information. Every day we encounter unverified health advice on social media, contradictory reports about medicines and treatments, dangerous myths that endanger citizens' health, and the impossibility of distinguishing fact from disinformation. Solution to these problems, as emphasized by medical doctors and scientists, is precisely broad public access of Cochrane’s systematic review articles.
The Cochrane Library is the world gold standard of medical evidence. In the last five years, the World Health Organization has cited at least one Cochrane systematic review in 77 percent of its guidelines.
More than 180 countries have full access to the Cochrane Library; many of these are low- and middle-income countries, which is why access for them is free. In higher-income countries, including Croatia, the government is expected to cover subscription costs.
Much work has already been done to make latest medical evidence accessible to the public. One such method is through non-expert summaries. As explained by prof. Ana Marušić MD. PhD., head of University of Split’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, at School of Medicine, these are simplified summaries, syntheses of evidence provided in systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which indicate whether a medical intervention is effective and how it is effective.
