Welcome to CEBD

Cochrane Skin is a network of people from all over the world committed to producing and updating systematic reviews of trials relating to skin conditions. Its editorial base is located at the CEBD where its output regularly informs other strands of work such as the need for new trials and the best design of new trials. The scope of  Cochrane Skin is wide, and includes any skin problem that leads an individual to seek help from a health care provider. They also consider evidence about skin treatments that are sold over-the-counter or are widely available.

The Harmonizing Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative was founded in 2008 by Professor Hywel Williams (UK) and Jochen Schmitt (Germany) in response to the use of multiple unvalidated outcome measures in eczema trials. HOME aims to agree a set of core outcome measures for atopic eczema which should be included in all clinical trials and clinical record-keeping to allow comparison of data across multiple trials.

The UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network (UK DCTN) is a dermatology clinical trials network open to anyone with an interest in applied dermatological research. The Network was developed in 2002 by Professor Hywel Williams and a group of academic and clinical colleagues in response to the growing need for high quality evidence to inform dermatology clinical practice. The UK DCTN has now developed into a collaborative, national network of dermatologists, nurses, health service researchers and patient representatives.

The Cochrane Skin - Core Outcome Set Initiative (CSG-COUSIN)  is a multiprofessional international working group within Cochrane Skin. CSG-COUSIN was initiated by Professor Jochen Schmitt and Professor Hywel Williams and is co-ordinated by the Center for Evidence-Based Healthcare, University of Dresden, Germany. The mission of CSG Cousin is "to develop and implement core outcome sets in dermatology in order to improve and standardise outcome measurement in clinical trials and to make trial evidence more useful."

The aim of the Society for Academic Primary Care Skin research Specialist Interest Group is to promote research into the diagnosis and management of the skin problems commonly seen in primary care, through networking, collaboration, and on-line discussion.