In early 2014, the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics cited Wikipedia as “the single leading source of medical information for patients and healthcare professionals”. It is used by 50% to 70% of physicians in clinical practice and has also been reported as the single most used resource by medical students.

Not long after this citation was published, Cochrane and the WikiMed Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia’s medical pages, formalized a partnership agreement to improve the evidence base in Wikipedia. This session will showcase some of the knowledge translation initiatives that have developed over the past 18-24 months, as well as provide opportunities to find out more about future plans for the partnership and how to get involved.

Chair: Nancy Owens, Senior Communications Manager, Cochrane Communications & External Affairs

Speakers:
James Heilman, WikiMed Foundation
Improving the evidence base in Wikipedia: why it’s important and what you can do

Sydney Poore, Cochrane Wikipedian-in-Residence
The Cochrane/Wikipedia partnership: successes and challenges from the first 18 months, and plans for the future

Holly Millward, Programme Support Officer, UK Cochrane Centre
The Students 4 Best Evidence network: using the international medical student community to contribute to improving health evidence on Wikipedia

Juliane Ried, Cochrane Translations Co-ordinator
Improving the availability of Cochrane evidence through language translation and initiatives to establish collaboration with Wikipedia language communities