About the Division

The main goal of the Division of Evidence-Based Medicine (dEBM) is to ensure that the care patients receive is based on the best evidence possible. Our doctors and researchers identify areas of medical treatment and health provision that are in need of improvement, and conduct research, systematic reviews and meta-analyses to develop guidelines and recommendations that ultimately bring this improvement about.

We have a special focus on the fields of dermatology, allergy and sexually transmitted disease, but our methods and collaborative work are ultimately interdisciplinary and relevant to many other fields of medical treatment and health services research.

Founded in 2001, the dEBM has a long-standing and internationally recognised reputation for its output. In addition to a large series of systematic (including Cochrane) reviews and numerous guideline projects, the dEBM team has published articles on guideline methodology and has been awarded the Guidelines International Network poster prize for their contribution to standardised wording in guideline recommendations.

The dEBM is home to the guidelines office of the German Dermatological Society and European Dermatology Forum. We also coordinate guideline development for the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS).

Our key areas of interest are:

• Health services and clinical research, particularly in dermatology, allergy and sexually transmitted disease
• Study design and data management
• Assessment of bias and methodological quality of medical studies, systematic reviews and clinical guidelines
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
• Consensus-based medical guidelines (S2 guidelines)
• Evidence- and consensus-based medical guidelines (S3 guidelines)
• Implementation tools for medical guidelines and interventions to change physician behaviour
  Evaluations of guidelines and guideline methodology
• Methods research

Our team is involved in the Cochrane Skin group, and strives always to follow gold standard methodologies. Examples include the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), Cochrane Handbook, Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) II, the Institute of Medicine’s Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust, and the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) of the GRADE Working Group.

We also play an active role in the European Dermato-Epidemiology Network (EDEN), the working groups of the German Dermatological Society (DDG), and the Working Committee for Dermatological Research in Germany (ADF), exchanging methodological and clinical ideas and expertise with other leaders in the field.