Core outcome sets: the time is now
Let's discuss why core outcome sets are crucial with Professor Williamson!
It is increasingly recognised that insufficient attention has been given to the choice of outcomes that are measured in clinical research, often neglecting those of greatest importance to decision-makers, including patients and the public. In this talk I will introduce core outcome sets (COS), recommended for consideration in the recently launched WHO Guidance for Best Practices for Clinical Trials. The presentation will include an analysis of what is known about and influences the uptake of COS in the wider healthcare research ecosystem, where a COS is defined as an agreed standardized set of outcomes that should be measured and reported, as a minimum, in all clinical trials in a specific area of health or health care.
Paula Williamson is Professor of Medical Statistics at the University of Liverpool. Her research programme has focussed on several aspects of evidence-based medicine (EBM) including clinical trials, meta-analysis, health outcome selection, and reducing waste in research. She was appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2014, gave the Bradford Hill Lecture in 2017, and was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) in 2018.
Paula co-founded the global COMET (Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials) Initiative in 2010, to improve the quality and relevance of health research by improving the outcomes measured. COMET was the winner of the inaugural MRC Open Science Impact Prize in 2022.
Paula leads the MRC Trials Methodology Research Partnership (TMRP), bringing together major organisations and 25 UK universities, with an embedded Doctoral Training Programme. The Greener Trials Group within the TMRP was established to facilitate development and uptake of research practices that consider the reduction of carbon emissions, waste and the wider environmental impact of clinicaltrials. Analysis of footprinted trials to date has identified trial-specific patient assessments to be a hotspot, increasing the importance of choosing trial outcomes, including core outcome sets, wisely.
Let's discuss why core outcome sets are crucial with Professor Williamson!
It is increasingly recognised that insufficient attention has been given to the choice of outcomes that are measured in clinical research, often neglecting those of greatest importance to decision-makers, including patients and the public. In this talk I will introduce core outcome sets (COS), recommended for consideration in the recently launched WHO Guidance for Best Practices for Clinical Trials. The presentation will include an analysis of what is known about and influences the uptake of COS in the wider healthcare research ecosystem, where a COS is defined as an agreed standardized set of outcomes that should be measured and reported, as a minimum, in all clinical trials in a specific area of health or health care.
Paula Williamson is Professor of Medical Statistics at the University of Liverpool. Her research programme has focussed on several aspects of evidence-based medicine (EBM) including clinical trials, meta-analysis, health outcome selection, and reducing waste in research. She was appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2014, gave the Bradford Hill Lecture in 2017, and was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) in 2018.
Paula co-founded the global COMET (Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials) Initiative in 2010, to improve the quality and relevance of health research by improving the outcomes measured. COMET was the winner of the inaugural MRC Open Science Impact Prize in 2022.
Paula leads the MRC Trials Methodology Research Partnership (TMRP), bringing together major organisations and 25 UK universities, with an embedded Doctoral Training Programme. The Greener Trials Group within the TMRP was established to facilitate development and uptake of research practices that consider the reduction of carbon emissions, waste and the wider environmental impact of clinicaltrials. Analysis of footprinted trials to date has identified trial-specific patient assessments to be a hotspot, increasing the importance of choosing trial outcomes, including core outcome sets, wisely.