Revisiting the value of Archie Cochranes contributions

The thoughts of Cochrane (1909–1988), more known as Archie Cochrane, deserve to be treasured also by the next generations. His name has become famous worldwide thanks to the Cochrane Collaboration and before it, thanks to the publication of his book Effectiveness and efficiency. Random reflections on health services1—of which we remember its 50th anniversary this year and was properly commemorated 25 years ago.2 Archie Cochrane’s thoughts cannot be fully understood apart from his life, so marked by the Spanish Civil War and the World War II,3–5 which shaped his antiauthoritarian spirit that he translated in not accepting uncritically any postulates. His proposals can be classified into five major themes: epidemiological research, critical thinking and controlled clinical trials, health services assessment, systematic reviews and humanist care. His sound work in the Welsh mining valleys is a reference in field epidemiology,...
Source: Evidence-Based Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Editorials Source Type: research