Non-Random Reflections

Leading researchers in health care write about Archie Cochrane and his work, examining the legacy he left in research methods that have begun to revolutionise policy making and the delivery of health care today. Includes chapters on epidemiology, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and evolution

Contributors vii Foreword xiii Acknowledgements xv Introductory reminiscences 1 Archie Cochrane's legacy: an American perspective 3 Kerr L White A reminiscence of Archie Cochrane 7 Richard Doll Archie Cochrane: an appreciation 11 Dick Cohen Archie and the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust 14 Gordon McLachlan ``What have Communism and Catholicism against randomised controlled trials?'' 18 Andre Rougemont, Etienne Guberan Some reactions to Effectiveness and Efficiency 21 Hugh F Thomas Part 1: Epidemiology 29 Response rates in south Wales 1950--96: changing requirements for mass participation in human research 31 Julian Tudor Hart, George Davey Smith Cochrane and the benefits of wine 58 Richard Doll The epidemiology of asthma 75 Michael Burr Part 2: Effectiveness 91 So what's so special about randomisation? 93 Jos Kleijnen, Peter Gøtzsche, Regina A Kunz, Andy D Oxman, Iain Chalmers Cochrane and the benefits of aspirin 107 Peter Elwood Social work: beyond control? 122 Geraldine Macdonald Part 3: Efficiency 147 Health economics: has it fulfilled its potential? 149 Alan Maynard, Trevor A Sheldon Part 4: Equity 167 Beyond effectiveness and efficiency...lies equality! 169 Alan Williams Equitable distribution of the risks and benefits associated with medical innovations 184 William Silverman Part 5: Evolution 195 Large-scale randomised evidence: trials and overviews 197 Rory Collins, Richard Peto, Richard Gray, Sarah Parish The Cochrane Collaboration 231 Iain Chalmers, David Sackett, Chris Silagy Improving the reporting of randomised controlled trials 250 David Moher, Jesse Berlin Exploring lay perspectives on questions of effectiveness 272 Sandy Oliver Cochrane's obituary 292 Index 295