CASP International Network

  • Find the best evidence
  • Appraise its validity and importance
  • Act on the results

The CASP International Network (CASPin) is an international collaboration which supports the teaching and learning of critical appraisal skills, and in particular helps other people set up sustainable training programmes.

Critical appraisal is a key skill required to be able to make evidence-based decisions. The CASPin teaching philosophy uses problem-based, small group learning within a supportive, collegiate environment to help people to develop their skills and put them into practice.

What has CASPin achieved internationally?

CASPin grew out of the work of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme in Oxford,(known as CASPuk within the network), whose work began in 1993 to help health care decisions makers understand scientific evidence. A similar critical programme was started in Spain (CASPe) in 1997 and further networks developed in Romania, Hungary, Japan, Poland, India and Norway. Many members of the network have organised critical appraisal workshops in about 30 other countries, particularly in South America and Central and Eastern Europe.

The first CASP International Training week was held in London, England on 5-9July 1999. The meeting was attended by over 20 delegates from 11 countries.

This years CASPin Training Week will be held from 16th-20th April 2012
at Kellogg College in Oxford (click here for more details)

 

CASPin can help if you:

  1. Want to find out where to get critical appraisal training in your country
  2. Would like help setting up a critical appraisal skills training programme in your own country or area
  3. Would like to make contact with people who run such training around the world
  4. Would like to share your experiences and learn from others 

 

Are you experiencing difficulties accessing the CASP UK website?

Apologies if you are having trouble accessing the CASP UK website (www.casp-uk.net). Unfortunately we have been having problems with our website in the last few months,We have however have the website re-made (looking exactly the same) and it was made live in December 2011.

We are now finding that people are still facing the same problems you have experienced and Minervation (our website provider) explains that depending on what internet browser you are using, it may be remembering a ‘cached’ version from before the new website went live. This could be local caching, either on users' PCs or on proxy servers.  Because Internet Explorer has experienced a problem with the site in the past, it stores the fact in the cache.  Searching the net reveals that Internet Explorer often doesn't genuinely refresh a page when you click the refresh button.
 
The suggestion for a fix is to try one of the following:

1) Control-F5
2) Control-Shift and click Refresh
3) Go to Tools\Internet Options, then click on the Settings button in Browsing History, then select the Every time I visit the webpage radio button.
4) Click F12.  Click "Cache" and select "Clear cache for this domain"

These may vary due different implementations and configurations (e.g. some institutions won't let the users clear their cache) then the advice is to consult your local IT support first if you need help.