EBNEO commentaries: An ongoing collaboration advancing evidence-based neonatal care

Abstract

In February 2017, Acta Paediatrica announced a collaboration1 with the International Society for Evidence‐Based Neonatology (EBNEO) to produce and publish EBNEO commentaries. We are pleased to report the collaboration continues with 85 commentaries from EBNEO reviews published at the close of 2020. EBNEO is a ‘A non‐profit organisation that nourishes a vision that all neonatal care should be firmly built on best available evidence. The vision includes as short a passage from research‐based knowledge to implementation in neonatal care (translation), thereby improving survival, decreasing morbidities and promoting long‐lasting health for newborn infants’. EBNEO reviews are an important part of this goal. The reviews are peer‐reviewed appraisals of studies relevant to neonatal care. The review consists of a structured abstract that highlights important study details, including methods, statistical analyses and key results of the critiqued study. It concludes with a 500‐word commentary reflecting on the findings in the context of evidence‐based neonatal practice. This commentary is published by Acta Paediatrica and is linked to the EBNEO website (https://ebneo.org/) where the full review can be accessed. EBNEO commentaries are indexed on PubMed and are freely available from the Acta Paediatrica home page. EBNEO reviews are a key part of our organisational mission to increase exposure, dissemination and accessibility of research findings relevant to evidence‐based neonatal practice. However, our work is not limited to this initiative. In early 2017, we introduced #ebneoalerts, an effort to constantly screen, curate and disseminate neonatal evidence‐based literature. We recognised that as the yearly global output of publications relevant to neonatology grows, providers are increasingly unable to remain ‘up‐to‐date’ through individual efforts. In turn, our dissemination approach was influenced by the growing influence of social media in academic medicine and society more broadly. We organised an international group of neonatologists with interest and training in neonatal research and developed an approach to collaboratively curate newly published articles and generate brief summaries of key findings through digital graphics and posts disseminated through social media and a monthly email newsletter. Each post includes a hyperlink to the article on the journal website to encourage further reading. As of December 2020, these dissemination efforts have reached over 20,000 ‘followers’ or subscribers across the globe. Further, since 2011, we have held biennial conferences in partnership with international institutions and organisations, highlighting both clinical and methodological topics of relevance to evidence‐based neonatal practice.