High-quality systematic reviews are the cornerstone of evidence-based healthcare and form the foundation of trustworthy clinical practice guidelines, health policy, and informed clinical decision-making. As the volume of medical literature continues to grow, clinicians and researchers require structured methods to identify, critically appraise, and synthesize the best available evidence. Cochrane conducts systematic reviews to provide the most reliable, unbiased evidence on the effectiveness and safety of healthcare interventions, helping clinicians, policymakers, and patients make informed decisions.
A Workshop on Cochrane Systematic Reviews and Evidence Synthesis was organized as a Pre-Conference Workshop at University of Child Health Sciences (UCHS), Lahore. It was organized by Cochrane Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) & Cochrane Pakistan collaboration on August 5th, 2026.This introductory workshop was designed to provide participants with a practical overview of the Cochrane systematic review process—from developing a focused research question to conducting literature searches, synthesizing evidence through meta-analysis, and assessing the certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach.
The workshop was designed with the intent to serve as an entry point for faculty interested in becoming Cochrane authors and participating in future systematic reviews and guideline development initiatives.
Prof. Dr Masood Sadiq (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz), Vice Chancellor -The University of Child Health Sciences/Children’s Hospital, Lahore; graced the occasion with his presence.
Professor Jeanne-Marie Guise, Harvard Medical School, Co-lead of the Cochrane Maternal, Newborn, and Child Thematic Group addressed the audience through a virtual session and introduced them to the basics of a Cochrane review. She enlightened the audience about the value of Cochrane reviews as gold standard for systematic reviews and meta-analysis. She guided them how to become a Cochrane author, how to register a review title and protocol, what are the training and mentorship opportunities for them and how to recognize a high-quality systematic review.
Dr. Aamer Imdad, University of Iowa, Co-lead of the Cochrane Maternal, Newborn, and Child Thematic Group came all the way from USA for the program. He gave a comprehensive introduction to Evidence Synthesis; including identification of clinical knowledge gaps, development of a PICO question, selection of the appropriate study design, the systematic review process and evidence synthesis workflow. He briefly introduced the concept of meta-analysis and forest plot interpretation to the audience. He shared his published work and generous practical tips for a good systematic review as well.
Dr Sakina Sadiq Malik (Associate Professor of Dermatology CIMS Bahawalpur), Master-trainer from Cochrane Pakistan gave a comprehensive interactive lecture on finding the Evidence. She gave a detailed account about developing an effective search strategy and searching PubMed and the Cochrane Library. She also gave a brief introduction to PRISMA checklist and flow diagram. She also gave an account of the achievements of Cochrane Pakistan to the audience and invited them to collaborate with the organization.
Both the facilitators answered the questions of the audience in a thorough way and cleared their ambiguities about the research process. Participants were also introduced to the software platforms commonly used throughout the evidence synthesis process, including Covidence, RevMan, and GRADE pro GDT, through brief live demonstrations.
The keen interest shown by the participants is a source of encouragement for Cochrane Pakistan to keep up its training activities in the future. The workshop may have concluded, but the conversations, ideas, and shared passion for systematic reviews and meta-analysis will continue to grow far beyond its walls.