By Jarren Lu Yi Sheng, Medical Student, RUMC, Class of 2025
I recently had the incredible opportunity to represent RCSI&UCD Malaysia Campus (RUMC) in attending the 2nd Global Evidence Summit in the stunning city of Prague from the 10th to 11th of September. This event brought together experts from different fields, including health, education, social justice, the environment, and climate change from across the globe, all dedicated to the crucial role of evidence synthesis. I was introduced to new perspectives and gained invaluable insights into the importance of appraising literature in a systematic and rigorous manner to generate evidence-based arguments to help facilitate the making of important decisions.
This year, the theme was ‘Using evidence. Improving lives.’ And true to its name, the event focused heavily on how different methods of evidence synthesis are being used to help inform national policies and international healthcare organizations in making sure their recommendations and guidelines remain up-to-date with existing literature. For example, rapid reviews almost completely replaced systematic reviews during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure clinical guidelines were continuously updated in real time. It was truly inspiring to see how our healthcare professionals were able to adapt conventional ways of producing evidence-based medicine to navigate an unprecedented crisis, whilst still maintaining the expected level of quality and rigor in the results produced.
The main reason for my trip to Prague was to deliver a poster presentation I did on “Using Covidence to Support Multiple Teams in Collaborating on Scoping Reviews”. (Picture 1) I got to engage in stimulating conversations with other researchers involved in the same field. More excitingly, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to submit an article of my work to the Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods journal during the session. Fingers crossed that the article gets accepted soon!
Besides the poster presentation session, there were many seminars / workshops you could attend based on the schedule uploaded onto the mobile application created by the event committee. These workshops ran throughout the day with multiple sessions running concurrently, so we had to pick and choose which ones we thought would be of most benefit. Examples of the ones I attended include “Adapting Synthesis Methods for Practical Use” and “Bridging Global Evidence to Local Impact, Especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries”. My favorite session would undoubtedly be an interactive workshop called “Exploring Theoretical Frameworks in Systematic Reviews” where we were introduced to the ‘theory of change’ and its associated steps in conceptualizing and realizing this supposed theory you’re working with. (Picture 2)
Another spotlight moment in the event was a debate titled “The Role of AI in Evidence Synthesis”. Both teams performed so well and gave solid arguments and defenses. You had to be there in person to experience the electric in the room – snarky remarks, humorous deliveries, and heartfelt moments – it almost felt like watching a theatrical show.
Finally, I would like to thank our school’s former head librarian, Ms Evelyn Anand, for giving me the opportunity to join in on this amazing piece of research, as well as Professor Jacqueline Ho for your guidance and unwavering support along the way. (Picture 3) I also want to thank my dad for keeping me company on my trip to Prague. I highly recommend attending the event at least once to broaden your horizons. A 10/10 experience.