About us

The Cochrane Nursing Care Network is one of 16 Fields and Networks within the Cochrane Collaboration. The purpose of a Field or Network is to support the conduct, dissemination and utilization of the systematic reviews relevant to the field.

The core functions of the Cochrane Nursing Care Network fall into three major areas related to the production and use of Cochrane reviews:

1. Supporting Cochrane Review Groups in the preparation of reviews relevant to nursing;
2. Introducing cross-cutting, non-specialised perspectives relevant to all those providing nursing care (nurses, other disciplines such as social work, families and lay caregivers); and
3. Enhancing the dissemination and effective uptake of Cochrane reviews.

More specifically, the core functions are to:

1. Identify priority topics/questions related to nursing care that are not covered by existing Cochrane reviews
2. Identify primary studies in nursing care by searching databases and handsearching relevant journals and conference proceedings, especially those published in languages other than English
3. Promote the Network’s perspectives and priorities across the Cochrane Collaboration
4. Raise awareness in the role of the Cochrane Collaboration and its resources that are available to support practitioners of nursing care
5. Disseminate the findings of relevant Cochrane reviews to the nursing care community
6. Identify sources of funding to undertake or complete Cochrane reviews of interest to the Network

The Cochrane Nursing Care Network (CNCN) is coordinated from Adelaide, Australia and consists of eight Nodes with members from over twenty-five countries across the world. The CNCN has a ‘hub and spoke’ model in which the Network is coordinated centrally and supported by regional nodes. Central coordination is provided from a dedicated unit within the School of Population Health and Clinical Practice at the University of Adelaide.

Membership of the Network is open to consumers of nursing care, nurses, formal and informal carers, other healthcare professionals, researchers and others involved in the delivery of nursing care. Click here to become a CNCN Member.

Network Coordination
Network Coordinator	Alan Pearson	alan.pearson@adelaide.edu.au
Network Administrator	Cindy Stern	cindy.stern@adelaide.edu.au

Network Nodes
Node Co-Convenors: Nursing Care Review Prioritising Node	Coral MacRury Billy Lauder	c.macrury@nhs.net william.lauder@stir.ac.uk
Node Members
Node Co-Convenors: Nursing Care European Language Node	Teresa Moreno-Casbas Esther González-María	mmoreno@isciii.es esthergomaria@isciii.es
Node Members
Node Co-Convenors: Nursing Care Review Support/CRG Liaison Node	Donal O’Mathuna Tracey Howe	donal.omathuna@dcu.ie Tracey.Howe@gcal.ac.uk
Node Members
Node Co-Convenors: Nursing Care Clinical Trial Database Node	Lisa Hopp Susan Salmond	ljhopp@calumet.purdue.edu salmonsu@umdnj.edu
Node Members
Node Co-Convenors: Nursing Care Review Integration Node	Margaret Harrison Marianne Lamb	Margaret.B.Harrison@queensu.ca Marianne.Lamb@queensu.ca
Node Members
Node Co-Convenors: Fundamentals of Nursing	Alison Kitson Suzi Robertson Malt	Alison Kitson Suzi Robertson Malt
Node Members
Node Co-Convenors: Nursing Care Simplified Chinese Node	Hu Yan	huyan@fudan.edu.cn
Node Members
Node Co-Convenors: Nursing Care Traditional Chinese Node	Pei-Fan Mu	peifan@ym.edu.tw
Node Members

The Cochrane Nursing Care Network received funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing for funding establishment costs in 2006-2008. The Joanna Briggs Institute funds the provision of support in the Adelaide Network Coordinating Group office.

Nurses and others involved in delivering nursing care represent the largest group of health personnel internationally. Increasing the international engagement of nurses, and others associated with nursing care, offers much potential for advancing the aims of the Cochrane Collaboration and contributing to the preparation of Cochrane reviews and their uptake in clinical practice.

In 2006, an international group of nurses associated with the Joanna Briggs Institute first discussed the possibility of establishing a nursing care entity within the Cochrane Collaboration. Following broad support to pursue this further, a concept paper was developed with the assistance of the Australasian Cochrane Centre and formed part of a funding submission to the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to provide support during the registration process. A preliminary proposal for a Nursing Care Network was developed and endorsed by the Directors and members of the twenty-six Joanna Briggs Institute Collaborating Centres at a meeting in Durban, South Africa in August 2006.

The preliminary proposal was also sent to members of the Cochrane Collaboration involved in nursing care. Following substantial revision, the proposal was discussed and endorsed at the Formal Exploratory Meeting to establish a Cochrane Nursing Care Network held in Dundee on 30 March 2007. In December 2007, an application to establish a Cochrane Nursing Care Network was submitted to the Cochrane Collaboration’s Monitoring and Registration Group.

Throughout 2008, the sponsors of the application liaised with the Monitoring and Registration Group and members of the Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group to address various comments and concerns raised about the application itself plus broader issues concerning the status of profession-based Fields. In February 2009, a revised application and letters of support were submitted to the Monitoring and Registration Group. The Cochrane Nursing Care Network was officially registered with the Cochrane Collaboration on 25 March 2009.

Objective	Activity	Responsibility (CNCN, Node, Group)	Measure of Impact/Success/Deliverables
Establish the CNCN as a Cochrane entity	a) Generate entity profile in Archie b) Upload and maintain Network module c) Establish CNCN website d) Organise CNCN Satellite symposium alongside Cochrane Colloquium e) Convene Advisory Board f) Draft a strategic plan g) Secure ongoing funding	CNCN Coordinating Site	All appropriate information uploaded and regularly maintained in Archie and the Network module Website “live” by July 2009 Symposium well attended and generates identifiable outcomes Advisory Board convened Strategic plan drafted Ongoing funding secured
Core Objective 1: Identify priority topics/questions related to nursing care that are not covered by existing Cochrane reviews	Develop an agreed, Network-wide process for identifying priorities for reviews	Scottish Node	Process established
Core Objective 2: Identify primary studies in nursing care by searching databases and handsearching relevant journals and conference proceedings, especially those published in languages other than English	Develop and establish systems and working groups	USA Node	Systems and working groups established; list of potential databases and journals generated
Core Objective 3: Promote the Network’s perspectives and priorities across the Cochrane Collaboration	Establish an effective communications strategy	CNCN Coordinating Site	Launch website; publication of a regular CNCN newssheet disseminated through CCInfo and other Cochrane communication channels.
Core Objective 4: Raise awareness in the role of the Cochrane Collaboration and its resources that are available to support practitioners of nursing care	Develop a system for communicating with major international and national nursing care organisations and groups	CNCN Coordinating Site	Quarterly newssheet/CNCN Update developed and circulated widely; content of quarterly news releases published in a wide range of publications and websites
Core Objective 5: Disseminate the findings of relevant Cochrane reviews to the nursing care community	a) Consolidate dissemination of information on Cochrane reviews in the Journal of Advanced Nursing; b) Develop regular “Cochrane Corner” columns in national nursing journals; c) Establish a new Cochrane Evidence for Nursing Care Journal published by Wiley-Blackwell as part of the International Journal of Nursing Practice	CNCN Coordinating Site	22 columns published in JAN in 2009 Cochrane Corner columns published in national nursing journals in at least 6 countries; First issue published in 2009
Core Objective 6: Identify sources of funding to undertake or complete Cochrane reviews of interest to the Network	Identify funding sources and establish strategies to pursue funding	CNCN Coordinating Site