How was Understanding Health Research developed?

Understanding Health Research was supported by the population Health Sciences Research Network, funded by the MRC (grant number PHSRN39).

Developing Understanding Health Research involved many different steps and input from a wide range of people involved in creating, communicating and using health research. Together, we identified the need for a resource for both lay and professional audiences in the form of an interactive, web-based tool that does not require any prior scientific knowledge. The aims of the tool are to:

• allow lay and professional audiences to understand how to assess the quality of research evidence
• raise awareness of what evidence is and how it is generated
• teach or reaffirm critical health literacy skills

The tool was developed iteratively through continuous testing and feedback with a variety of audiences. We aim to continue to refine and evolve Understanding Health Research to make it as useful as possible.

If you have any feedback on how to improve the Understanding Health Research tool, please contact us.