A decision tool for updating Cochrane reviews

This report describes the development and validation of an updating tool to help assess the need and likely benefits of updating a Cochrane review. The report is presented in five sections. Section 1 describes the background and rationale for the updating tool, including information about when and how to update. Section 2 describes the development of the updating tool and the resulting decision tree and checklist. Section 3 presents the results of the in-house and ongoing formal pilot of the tool, while Sections 4 and 5 provide information about the dissemination of the tool and our key conclusions. This project was funded by the Cochrane Opportunities Fund in 2007.