Evidence-Based Medicine Unit (EBM-U) | EBM-U
Cochrane Balearic Islands and the Evidence-Based Medicine Unit of IdISBa: Promoting Evidence‑Based Health
The Evidence-Based Medicine Unit (EBM-U) of the Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa) has as its main mission to strengthen informed decision-making and improve public health in the Balearic Islands and in the international community. The EBM-U offers a comprehensive range of services to support research and decision-making in the health field, all grounded in scientific evidence.
This unit has more than 15 years of experience in conducting systematic reviews through close collaboration with Cochrane Iberoamerica.
Over the years, it has worked with renowned organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), consolidating its position as a reference in evidence-based research.
In October 2024, the EBM-U was accredited as the Cochrane Balearic Islands group (an institution affiliated with Cochrane Iberoamerica), contributing to the group its extensive expertise in systematic reviews, rigorous methodologies, and evidence quality assessment using GRADE.
Cochrane's Approach: Evidence‑Based Health
Cochrane is an independent international network that brings together researchers, health professionals, patients, and caregivers from around the world, with the goal of providing reliable and accessible health information. Since its foundation in 1993, Cochrane has focused on generating high‑quality scientific evidence to improve health decision-making, and it does so with more than 100,000 members across 190 countries.
The Cochrane Iberoamerican Centre is an international institution within Cochrane that coordinates the Cochrane Iberoamerican Network, which includes Spain and 18 other Spanish‑speaking countries.
In this way, Cochrane promotes a vision of health based on evidence and oriented toward all those seeking informed and effective healthcare decisions.
Services and Objectives of the Cochrane Balearic Islands Group
The integration of the group into Cochrane Iberoamerica maximizes IdISBa's capacity to promote evidence-based health through:
- Improved decision‑making: Facilitating access to reliable, high‑quality evidence for healthcare professionals and policymakers to support their decisions.
- Development and dissemination of trustworthy evidence: Facilitating access to Cochrane reviews in Spanish and Catalan and expanding their reach among healthcare professionals and the general population.
- Support for local research: Providing methodological guidance for regional and international projects, strengthening their scientific impact.
- Training and education: Organizing workshops and activities to foster a culture of continuous learning in evidence‑based medicine.
- Strengthening collaborative networks: Working with universities, healthcare institutions, and governmental bodies to implement evidence-based practices in the region.
Services of the Evidence-Based Medicine Unit of IdISBa
The EBM-U has extensive experience in systematic reviews and advanced methodologies, offering a comprehensive and flexible approach in its services, which include:
- Design of systematic review protocols.
- Design of advanced bibliographic search strategies.
- Screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment.
- Synthesis of quantitative and qualitative results through meta‑analysis and meta‑synthesis, ensuring thorough and reliable analyses.
- Assessment of the quality of evidence and formulation of recommendations based on GRADE Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks, which ensure a systematic and transparent approach to informed decision‑making.
Our services are flexible and adapt to the specific needs of each client, offering both methodological advice and the full or partial execution of systematic reviews.