CA17117 - Towards an International Network for Evidence-based Research in Clinical Health Research (EVBRES)

Redundant clinical research has been published due to the absent use of systematic reviews (SR) when new research is planned. It is unethical, limits the available funding for important and relevant research, and diminishes the public’s trust in research. In order to raise awareness of this inappropriate practice, the EVBRES-consortium define “Evidence-Based Research” (EBR) as the use of prior research in a systematic and transparent way to inform a new study so that it answers the questions that matter in a valid, efficient and accessible manner. New studies should be informed by SRs as to the most appropriate design and methods. EVBRES will establish an international European-based network aiming to raise awareness of the need to use of SRs when planning new studies and when placing new results in context. PhD students and senior clinical researchers’ needs to learn how to find, critically appraise and update a SR, answering the same clinical question the new study plans to answer. Closely related to this is the involvement and awareness of related stakeholders, including patients, ethics committees, funding agencies and scientific journals, to require SRs before approval of new clinical studies. By acknowledging and implementing an EBR approach these stakeholders can improve their own practice and can increase the incentives for clinical researchers to use an EBR approach. Further, EVBRES will catalyse more efficient updating and production of SRs, and monitor the implementation of an EBR approach both in clinical research and among related stakeholders.