What’s your MS research priority?
A unique opportunity for people with MS and their families to share their MS research shortlists.
Last updated: 19th January 2021
The Cochrane MS and Rare Diseases of the Central Nervous System group (Cochrane) helps people make informed decisions on healthcare issues, ranging from diagnosis to palliative care. Cochrane is a unique non-profit organisation. It collects, reviews and summarises all existing scientific evidence to try to answer specific questions. These summaries are called ‘systematic reviews’, and help ensure decisions about healthcare are evidence-based.
In May 2020, Joanna Laurson-Doube, MSIF’s International Consultant on Access to Treatment, joined Cochrane’s Steering Group on Priority Setting in MS. Cochrane has just launched a survey to find out which research questions are most relevant for the care of people with MS, and can be answered by rigorous reviews of already published research.
‘The focus is on which MS questions need an answer. We want people with and affected by MS to get involved through the survey. This is a fantastic opportunity to get your voice heard.’ Joanna Laurson-Doube
The survey is available in 12 languages, made possible through the Cochrane community – a network of 37,000 contributors. You can complete the survey in: Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian and Spanish. The range of translations available make real global participation possible.
Joanna remarks:
‘Through my research and NGO experience I have seen that there is a strong bias towards only considering scientific evidence published in English. I’m from Finland, grew up in Belgium, and have lived and worked in the UK, Sweden, Germany and Hong Kong. What I really like about this project is that Cochrane will consider evidence published in any language. This really emphasizes how international their approach is.’
The questionnaire is live until 6 February 2021 and takes around 10- 20 minutes to complete. Don’t miss your chance to choose and explain your MS research priorities: Access Survey
Additional information is available here, or you can contact Francesco Nonino from the Cochrane MS group with any queries: f.nonino@ausl.bologna.it