Conference to examine big questions of society's health, social issues

Registration is open for the first Joint Colloquium of the Campbell and Cochrane Collaborations: Bringing Evidence-Based Decision-Making to New Heights, set for Oct. 18-22 in Keystone.

The conference, hosted by the University of Colorado Denver, will feature as many as 1,200 attendees from leading research and policy-making organizations around the world.

The primary focus of the joint colloquium will be the methodology behind systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the effectiveness of interventions and programs in the fields of health and social care.

Each day, health care providers, policy makers, educators, researchers and citizens across the world ask themselves questions about health and social issues, and the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations are dedicated to finding the answers. By systematically and critically reviewing the literature on pressing topics in medicine, health care, education, crime and social welfare, they strive to answer the question, "What works?"

The colloquium represents the first time these groups will join forces, and represents the 18th annual Cochrane and the 10th annual Campbell Colloquia. A colloquium is an academic activity, typically involving a lecture by an academic about his or her work to colleagues. The audience is expected to ask questions and to evaluate the work presented. Colloquia provide scholars with the opportunity to face and respond to criticism in the early stages of the development of new ideas.

The program includes more than 100 hands-on workshops and 80 oral sessions, and networking with representatives from leading research and policy-making organizations from around the world.

Speakers include Patricia Schroeder, former U.S. representative from Colorado; Bob Wachter, M.D., professor and associate chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and national leader in patient safety and health care quality; Ida Sims, M.D, Ph.D., director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Informatics, UCSF; and David Weisburd, holder of the Stockholm Prize for Criminology.

Social events include an opening gala, Western-style barn dance and the annual Jerry Lee lecture and reception. Attendees also may join the Cochrane Collaboration team for the Rock 'n' Roll Denver Half Marathon on Oct. 17.

For more information, visit www.regonline.com/colloquium2010 or contact local organizer Robert Dellavalle M.D., Ph.D., M.S.P.H., at 303-399-8020, ext. 2475, or Robert.Dellavalle@ucdenver.edu.