The Cochrane Library as a resource for evidence on out-of-hospital health care interventions.

Abstract

Although the Cochrane Library is promoted as a rigorous source of evidence, the relevance of this evidence to the out-of-hospital setting has not been assessed. The objective of this study is to identify existing controlled trials and systematic reviews in the Cochrane Library that have been conducted in or are relevant to out-of-hospital health care. The scope of out-of-hospital care, the years and trends of out-of-hospital research publication, and the journals of publication are also examined.