COVID-END - COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making

The COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making (COVID-END) helps:

  1. those supporting decision-making about COVID-19 to find and use the best available evidence (i.e., to support the evidence-demand side of the pandemic response)
  2. researchers to avoid waste by reducing duplication in and better coordinating the COVID-19 evidence syntheses, technology assessments and guidelines being produced (i.e., to support the evidence-supply side of the pandemic response).

COVID-END is a time-limited network that brings together more than 50 of the world’s leading evidence-synthesis, technology-assessment and guideline-development groups around the world. It covers the full spectrum of the pandemic response, from public-health measures and clinical management to health-system arrangements and economic and social responses. It also covers the full spectrum of contexts where the pandemic response is playing out, including low-, middle- and high-income countries.

Keep current about COVID-19 responses with two types of products from COVID-END:

  1. global spotlights that include updates to the ‘best’ living evidence syntheses and new ‘best’ evidence syntheses (which draw on the COVID-END inventory of best evidence syntheses in the world on COVID-19-related decisions)
  2. horizon scan documents that include a briefing note about emerging COVID-19 issues and a panel summary about priority COVID-19 issues (which capture the insights from COVID-END’s global panel of leading doers and thinkers)

If you want to receive an email containing hyperlinks to these products twice a month, subscribe here.

If you are supporting decision-making about COVID-19, take a look at our resources designed specifically for you:

  1. inventory of best evidence syntheses through which you can immediately find the best available (i.e., most up-to-date, highest quality, and transparently presented) evidence syntheses for each of:
    1. public-health measures (e.g., masks and tests)
    2. clinical management of COVID-19 (e.g., prescription drugs) and pandemic-related conditions (e.g., mental health and addictions issues)
    3. health-system arrangements (e.g., scaling capacity up or down and virtual-care alternatives to in-person care)
    4. economic and social responses (e.g., classroom and public-transit changes)
  2. horizon scans for emerging issues so you can stay ahead of challenges that other jurisdictions have already identified
  3. community of those supporting decision-making so you can learn from and share experiences with others
  4. living hub of COVID-19 knowledge hubs so you can identify organizations that are supporting decision-making with a specific topic or sectoral focus, with a specific type of resource (e.g., recommendations, evidence syntheses or data), and/or with a specific geographic or linguistic scope.

We also have a guide to COVID-19 evidences sources (although we recommend starting with our inventory before searching other sources), resources to help you package research evidence for decision-makers, a description of a model for responding to decision-makers’ requests for research evidence in very short turn-around times, and tips and tools for responding to decision-makers’ needs.

If you are a researcher wanting to prepare an evidence synthesis or develop a guideline about COVID-19, take a look at our resources designed specifically for you:

  1. priorities for new syntheses and guidelines so you can fill an important gap in what’s known and don’t contribute to unnecessary duplication
  2. resources for those considering and conducting COVID-19 evidence syntheses so what you prepare has a good change of making it into our inventory of best evidence syntheses and being used to support decision-making
  3. resources for those considering and developing COVID-19 guidelines so what you develop addresses a need and is of high quality (coming soon).

More information about COVID-END (its principles, partners, working groups, secretariat and funders) is available through the ‘About us’ menu. COVID-END currently has seven active working groups (scoping, prioritizing, accessing, engaging, recommending, sustaining, and advocating). Three additional working groups are now ‘on stand-by’ and, after a series of important achievements and now much-needed rest, can take on exciting new opportunities to make a difference as they arise (digitizing, synthesizing and packaging).