Research Synthesis Division

A major research theme for ARCH for 2008-2012 is:

Benefiting women and babies by promoting and supporting evidence based health care

Cochrane Reviews in maternal and perinatal health have major impact by providing evidence for clinical practice, health care policy and identifying new research strategies. The Australian Collaborative Research Network (the Australasian Review Authors Group for the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Collaborative Review Group) is funded by the Federal Department of Health, with the national coordinating centre at ARCH.

The Research Synthesis Division’s key research strategies are to facilitate the preparation and updating of high quality systematic reviews in maternal and perinatal health, benefiting women and babies by:-

• providing multidisciplinary expertise and maintaining an ideal training environment in research synthesis to support authors of systematic reviews.
• ensuring sufficient experienced authors of systematic reviews to provide sustainability in keeping the pregnancy and childbirth Cochrane reviews up to date – a prerequisite for providing current, evidence based health advice.
• the development of sustainable expertise in the preparation of systematic reviews by encouraging mentoring of new authors by experienced authors of systematic reviews.
• increasing the number of tertiary maternity hospitals and institutions within Australia where midwives, clinicians, researchers and allied health care professionals are active Cochrane pregnancy and childbirth authors of systematic reviews.
• taking the lead in completing systematic reviews in identified priority maternal and perinatal topics where there are no Cochrane reviews.
• contributing to international guidelines for preparing and maintaining systematic reviews, such as the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.
• continuing to develop expertise in mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) research synthesis.
• developing expertise and capacity in diagnostic reviews.

Australasian Reviewers Group for the Collaborative Review Group (ARG-PC-CRG)

The Australian Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Central Office is funded by the Department of Health to support Australian authors, prepare and maintain Cochrane Systematic Reviews relating to women's and infant's health. Ms Philippa Middleton is the National Coordinator for the group supported by the research leaders. There are 135 Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth review authors within Australia who are supported by staff in the research office and their work accounts for 66 Cochrane Systematic Reviews, over 26% of all pregnancy and childbirth reviews in The Cochrane Library. The implications for clinical practice provide guidance for effective clinical care. The implications for research prioritise our research agenda, locally and at the national level.

Key Contacts

Professor Caroline Crowther
Dr Jodie Dodd
Ms Philippa Middleton

Contact details