March 2025 marks the third anniversary of Cochrane’s commitment to Public Involvement in Health and Social Care Research, a pledge launched in 2022. This commitment underscores Cochrane's ongoing efforts  to enhance its practice of public involvement, ensuring that the voices of the users of our evidence are at the heart of health and social care evidence.

Excellent public involvement is an essential part of health and social care research and improves the quality and impact of research. Excellent public involvement is inclusive, values all contributions, ensures people have a meaningful say in what happens, and influences outcomes, as set out in the UK Standards for Public Involvement.

Cochrane is proud to be one of the thirty two organizations in partnership on this important initiative. Together, partners connect during quarterly Learning and Sharing meetings to share best practices and new developments, amplifying excellent public involvement and maximising resources for optimised efforts and impact.

Reflecting on this milestone, April English, Cochrane’s Consumer Engagement Manager, states: “Our commitment to public involvement is key to advancing health and social care research and demonstrating our value for the invaluable contributions of patients and the public, ultimately improving the quality and impact of research.”

“People have the right to be involved in all health and social care research,” Ana Beatriz Pizarro, member of the Consumer Network Executive, reflects. “People’s lived experiences should be a key driver for health and social care research.”

Key Achievements and Initiatives

Over the past three years, Cochrane has taken significant steps to strengthen public involvement, including:

• Cochrane’s Consumer Network: In 2025, three new members joined the Consumer Network Executive, and as of January 2025, over 2,500 members have joined the Consumer Network. Both, strengthening the community of people interested in high-quality health evidence, and in helping to be a part of producing and sharing evidence.
• Reporting Consumer Involvement: Since 2024, all new Cochrane reviews must report on consumer involvement.
• Consumer Representation on Editorial Board: The Editorial Board is responsible for supporting Cochrane’s Editor in Chief and overseeing the production of Cochrane Reviews and other Cochrane Library content. The Editorial Board includes representation from the Consumer Network.
• Consumer Peer Review of Submitted Cochrane Reviews and Protocols: Recent consumer peer reviews include Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation, Interventions implemented through sporting organisations for promoting healthy behaviour or improving health outcomes, Prevention of self‐harm and suicide in young people up to the age of 25 in education settings, and Water fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries.
• The Co-Production Methods Group: Launched in October 2023, this group advances research on co-production methods, shares best practices, and supports learning to help systematic review authors engage meaningfully with healthcare consumers.
• Evidence Essentials:  A free, online learning module co-produced by healthcare consumers, researchers, and Cochrane specialists, helping people understand health evidence and make informed health choices. In 2024, module six was launched on critical appraisal of rapid reviews.
• Learning Live Webinars:  A series of free webinars tailored for different audiences, including review authors and the public, providing guidance on engaging with Cochrane evidence and making research more accessible.

Cochrane’s Framework for Public Involvement

Cochrane’s framework for consumer engagement and involvement focuses on five key elements:

1. Engagement: Strengthening communication, evidence dissemination, recruitment, and learning opportunities for consumers.
2. Co-Production: Increasing consumer involvement in evidence production and governance to align research with user needs.
3. Accessibility: Enhancing health literacy and making Cochrane evidence easier to access and understand.
4. Strategic Partnerships: Collaborating with patient groups and other stakeholders to advance engagement, co-production, and advocacy efforts.
5. Evaluation and Reporting: Establishing key engagement and involvement metrics for evaluating and reporting the impact of Cochrane’s engagement and involvement activity. 
   
   
   

How to Get Involved?

There are many ways to play a part in health and social care research  at Cochrane.

Join Cochrane's Consumer Network, a large and growing community of people across the world. We welcome patients, carers and the public who are interested in getting involved in and sharing high-quality health evidence.

Cochrane Engage and Cochrane Crowd are always looking for volunteers to get involved with research.

• Learn more about Cochrane’s commitment to healthcare consumers
• Contact the Cochrane’s Consumer Engagement Manager or Cochrane’s Consumers Network Executive at consumers@cochrane.org