Evidence Aid is an international platform that was formed out of the need to deliver time sensitive access to systematic reviews for use in the event of disasters and other humanitarian emergencies. The method of using systematic reviews (a collection of available evidence on any given topic) is to provide evidence for use by policy makers, clinicians, regulators, and even the general public who benefit when these materials are easy to understand and are accessible. The vision of Evidence Aid is to create and satisfy an increasing demand for evidence to improve the impact of humanitarian aid by stimulating the use of an evidence-based approach. Evidence Aid was founded in 2004. It is currently a project that is housed by the Cochrane Collaboration and Queen's University Belfast. Evidence Aid was established by several members of the international Cochrane Collaboration following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Evidence Aid was formed to provide systematic reviews on the effects of interventions and actions of relevance prior to, in the course of and during the aftermath of disasters or other humanitarian emergencies, in order to improve health-related outcomes; their aim is to work with those who need and use this evidence (those preparing for and responding to disasters and humanitarian emergencies – policy-makers, guideline developers, trainers, as well as aid agencies and independent consultants), as well as working with researchers and publishers to facilitate freely accessible materials to meet the information needs for those facing humanitarian emergencies and disasters. Evidence Aid works in collaboration with other organizations including Public Health England; Red Cross Flanders, International Rescue Committee; Centers for Disease Control; Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine; and the University of Oxford.
Purpose
Evidence Aid's purpose is to create and satisfy an increasing demand for evidence to improve the impact of humanitarian aid by stimulating the use of an evidence-based approach.
Evidence Aid collates knowledge from systematic reviews to provide a portal of resources for decision-makers. The systematic reviews seek to highlight which interventions work, which do not work, which need more research, and which, no matter how well meaning, might be harmful. Those in need have the right to receive humanitarian aid that has been proven to be effective and not harmful. With an increasing demand for "value for money", proof of impact and effectiveness in the provision of humanitarian aid it is essential to ensure that decisions and activities are evidence-based. They keep this information up to date where it can serve as a provision to other agencies, planning groups and first responders in, disasters, humanitarian crises or major healthcare emergencies.
The objectives of Evidence Aid are to: Establish and increase an evidence-based approach towards humanitarian action Uphold and promote the value of evidence in health outcomes across sectors Identify the gaps in evidence for humanitarian aid and build the resources and network to address them Raise the capacity and commitment of those who guide the humanitarian sector to implement an evidence-based approach
Evidence Aid also provides collections of evidence which are topic specific, such as collections for Ebola, the Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Europe, Windstorms and Earthquakes. These collections contain evidence-based guidelines, randomised controlled trials, and other useful information.
Resources
Team
Evidence Aid's office is based with the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (Oxford, UK) and it also has a desk in Cochrane (London, UK). The core team of four are based in two different locations. Mike Clarke, who founded the initiative and is now the Chair of the Board of Trustees and Research Director, is a professor at Queen's University and also has a position at the Centre for Global Health, Trinity College Dublin. Jeroen Jansen, Evidence Aid's first Director, is based in London and Oxford overseeing the day-to-day management and activities of Evidence Aid, and Claire Allen, Operations Manager, who works from home in Weymouth, UK, channels the integration with the world in need and brings the project and research together to facilitate evidence-based aid when nations are at their most vulnerable. They are supported by Jane Higgins, part-time Office Administrator, based in Oxford, UK. The impact of Evidence Aid is currently undergoing impact evaluation by Dominic Mellon, a Public Health Specialty Registrar based in Bristol, UK, as part of a PhD research project supervised by Mike Clarke at Queen's.