Posted on 31 March 2020 by Ella Flemyng (Methods Implementation Coordinator and COVID-19 consumer representative on the COVID-19-COS project Steering Committee) and updated on 1 April 2020*
To facilitate evidence synthesis and ensure COVID-19 research addresses outcomes that are of most importance to people affected or at risk of COVID-19, and those involved in their care, the COVID-19-COS project aims to gain consensus on the outcomes. They are calling for all to complete a 10-minute survey to give their opinion on the importance of 25 outcomes by 10 April 2020.
The global scientific community is coming together in the fight against COVID-19 (coronavirus), with 674 COVID-19 trials registered between the beginning of January and 23 March 2020 on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP).
Evidence syntheses of these COVID-19 studies are also underway. Working with the WHO and other international stakeholders, Cochrane is building a bank of review questions, which are constantly being prioritized and refined. Frequent screening searches aim to keep the list up-to-date and reduce duplication of effort, as rapid reviews are conducted within Cochrane and across the wider community to inform health decisions during this pandemic.
To facilitate this evidence synthesis and to ensure the COVID-19 trials address the impacts of disease and treatment that are meaningful and of high priority to people affected or at risk of COVID-19, and those involved in their care, we need consensus on the most important outcomes for COVID-19 research.
The COVID-19-COS project, part of the Australian Living Evidence Consortium National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce guidelines initiative, therefore aims to establish a core outcome set for trials in patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
The project is currently calling for all members of the community to complete a 10-minute survey to give their opinion on the importance of 25 outcomes for people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, which is open until 10 April 2020 (see the message from the Steering Committee below):
CLICK HERE TO BEGIN: COVID-19-COS SURVEY
This project is supported by Cochrane, with members of the Cochrane community involved in the COVID-19-COS Steering Committee.
Message from the COVID-19-COS Steering Committee:
In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, much research is underway to inform the care of people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. We urgently need to know what outcomes are important to people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, their family members, community members and health professionals. Your input will help us to rapidly develop a “core outcome set” in COVID-19. This is a list of outcomes (which are the impacts of COVID-19 or its treatment on patients) that should be reported, as a minimum, in all clinical trials in COVID-19. This will ensure that research and clinical guidelines address outcomes that are meaningful and important. This study will involve completion of two short survey rounds (10 minutes) in order to try and reach agreement among the group. You will be asked to give your opinion on the importance of 25 outcomes for people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. The survey is anonymous, and anyone can participate. Round 1 is planned to close 10th April 2020 and all participants who complete the survey will receive a copy of the results.
CLICK HERE TO BEGIN: COVID-19-COS SURVEY
Thank you so much for your participation. Once you have completed the survey please feel free to forward this email to others who you may be interested.
COVID-19-COS Steering Committee | Jonathan Craig, Julian Elliott, Pedro Póvoa, John Marshall, Steve Webb, Sally Crowe, Paula Williamson, Lilia Cervantes, Tom Snelling, Yasser Sakr, Andrew Conway Morris, Ivor Douglas, Antoni Torres, Saad Nseir, Peter Horby, Luciano Azevedo, Sangeeta Mehta, Jaehee Lee, Derek Chew, Andrew Bersten, Alan Smyth, Anne McKenzie, Ella Flemyng, Tari Turner, Armando Teixeira-Pinto, Martin Howell, Allison Tong
W: www.covid-19-cos.org
E: cos@covid-19-cos.org
T: @COVID19COS
* 1 April 2020: Introductory text added (all text before the 'Message from the COVID-19-COS Steering Committee').