Cochrane Croatia’s 13th ‘Croatian Cochrane Symposium’ (CroCoS) was held on 8th June 2021, despite the pandemic. Undeterred, Cochrane Croatia’s members put together a stellar array of speakers and topics to entice even the most fatigued online conference-goers.
Following on from last year’s symposium focused on Cochrane’s efforts to tackle COVID-19, this year’s symposium was focused on learning from our experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. Matteo Bruschettini and Minna Johannson provided insight into the challenges of implementing universal guidelines in different settings: Minna in the domain of general practice and Matteo in the context of Swedish society. Lorainne Tudor Car, Editor for the Campbell Collaboration, shared her experience of teaching medical students in Singapore during the pandemic, while Abanoub Ryan, from Cochrane Czech Republic, informed us of the international COVID-19 vaccine study, which hopes to collect long-term data on vaccine side-effects.
Croatia’s experience in coping with the pandemic was shared by colleagues Branko Kolarić, Marion Tomičić, Andrija Babić and Jasna Karačić, each of whom represented a specific sector of the health care system: Branko focused on homes for the elderly; Marion spoke about the challenges for general practitioners; Jasna spoke about patient rights during the pandemic, whereas Andrija described the work of emergency services. Svjetlana Grgić, Co-Director of Cochrane Bosnia and Herzegovina, shared her experience of running an infectious diseases’ ward during the pandemic.
The critical role of rapid reviews during the pandemic was highlighted by Chantelle Garrity, from Cochrane’s Rapid Reviews Methods Group, who explained how Cochrane rose to the challenge and produced a collection of freely available COVID-19 rapid reviews. Croatia’s Mirjana Huić provided insight into the role of Health Technology Assessments, as a useful tool for policy makers during pandemics.
The international flavor of the symposium was further enhanced by Israel Borges do Nascimento, from Brazil, who spoke of his success in conducting COVID-19 reviews thanks to Cochrane’s ‘Task Exchange’ and ‘International Mobility Program’, and by Vivian Welch and Tamara Loutfi, both from Canada, who spoke about Campbell evidence in supporting decisions related to schooling and social welfare, and about COVID-19 ‘Recommendation maps’, respectively.
After a long but rewarding day, participants departed in the hope that the next 14th Croatian Cochrane Symposium would be held face-to-face in our beautiful city of Split.
Irena Zakarija-Grković
Co-Director, Cochrane Croatia
