As part of the Cochrane, the group is aimed to produce and disseminate systematic reviews of studies on the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of substance and alcohol use disorders, with the goal of enhancing the quality of life for affected individuals.
Our systematic reviews can provide healthcare professionals, patients, and policymakers with the best available evidence to make informed decisions.
The principal objective of systematic reviews is to develop information:
- evidence based
- easily accessible
- internationally developed
- clinically relevant
- updated
They are useful because size and availability of data are huge and increasing, access to results of research is sometimes random, quality of research is heterogeneous and many studies are too small (low statistical power).
Systematic reviews allow to judge:
- whether there are sufficient evidences of effectiveness of the intervention
- whether it is necessary to conduct further studies for the evaluation of a treatment and which aspects should be considered
Our systematic reviews mainly evaluate the efficacy and safety of interventions aimed at reducing alcohol and/or psychoactive substances use and related harms.