Cochrane Library Podcasts

Most Cochrane Reviews seek to cover both the benefits and harms of interventions, but the complexity of the research on the adverse effects of some treatments means that a few reviews are dedicated to just the potential harms. One of these, on one of the drugs used for treating asthma was updated in September 2019, and lead author, Sadia Janjua from the Population Health Research Institute at the University of London in the UK, tells us about the latest findings in this podcast.

People with fibromyalgia have persistent, widespread body pain and there are more than 30 Cochrane Reviews of interventions that might help them. In September 2019, a new review was added to the Cochrane Library, studying the effects of flexibility exercise training. We asked its lead author, Soo Kim from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, to tell us about the findings.

There are more than 50 Cochrane Reviews of the effects of interventions to help people quit smoking; one of which investigates whether reducing smoking before quitting might be an alternative to stopping suddenly. It was updated in September 2019 and we asked lead author, Nicola Lindson, from the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group based in the University of Oxford in the UK to tell us about their latest findings.

Almost all Cochrane Reviews use a systematic methodology in which the rules for including a study are clearly defined in advance, the researchers try to find and include all such studies and seek an estimate of the size of the effect of an intervention or the accuracy of a diagnostic test. However, some researchers wish to look more at why and how interventions or actions work, and a realist approach might be more appropriate for their review. One of the first such Cochrane reviews was published in June 2019, assessing advocacy interventions for abused women, and we asked lead author, Carol Rivas from University College London in the UK, to tell us more.

Psoriasis is a common skin problem and there are several Cochrane Reviews of various ways to treat it. These were added to in July 2019 with the publication of a new review on the potential benefits of lifestyle changes. We asked Professor Ching-Chi Chi from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taoyuan Taiwan to tell us what they found.

Nicotine replacement therapy has been used to help people stop smoking for more than 20 years, and a large and growing body of research has tested it. To help cope with this, some of the related Cochrane Reviews have been divided up and in April 2019 the evidence on different doses, durations and modes of delivery was updated into a new review. Here’s one of the authors, Samantha Chepkin from Cochrane UK to tell us what they found.

Smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable death worldwide and there are more than 50 Cochrane Reviews of the effects of interventions to help people quit. One of these, on the use of incentives, which was last published in 2015 was updated in July 2019. We asked the new lead author, Caitlin Notley, from the University of East Anglia in the UK to bring us up to date with the evidence.

Most Cochrane Reviews look at the effects of interventions on health, but a growing number provide evidence on how to diagnose a disease. In June 2019, one of these, on a test used to detect tuberculosis, was updated. The lead author, David Horne from the University of Washington in Seattle in the USA, sets the scene and tells us what the review found.

Smoking remains a substantial public health problem around the world and the search for effective ways to help people stop is ongoing, with more than 50 Cochrane Reviews providing evidence on a wide variety of interventions. One of these reviews, on motivational interviewing, was updated in July 2019 and the lead author, Nicola Lindson from the University of Oxford in the UK brings us up to date in this podcast.

Malignant melanoma, which can be fatal, is increasingly common and there is debate about whether it should join the list of cancers that are screened for. A new Cochrane Review from June 2019 looks at the current evidence and we asked one of the authors, Minna Johansson from Cochrane Sweden, to tell us what they found.