Site Guide

About the evidence

The evidence base reviewed for this site is worldwide and extensive, and up to date as of January 2010.

The website is a 'review of reviews'.

We looked for the highest quality of evidence -- systematic reviews and other high level narrative reviews.

Each of these examines all the available research on a single question -- such as, what are the effects of communication skills training on patient-physician interactions?

See explanation of systematic reviews.

Nature of the evidence

If commissioners and providers are to invest in engagement, it is important to understand the nature of the research.

The evidence base is substantial and significant. But it is not perfect -- more research is needed.

Some interventions, such as education for self-management, have been very well studied. Others, such as involving the public in setting health priorities, have few studies, and these have lacked common methods.

Much of the research is from North America, so caution should be used in considering how it translates to an English context.

Few studies have looked at the long term effects of engagement.

The analysis of cost-effectiveness is sometimes lacking -- so the benefits of investing in engagement often need to be measured in other terms.

Finally, because we focused on systematic reviews, single studies were excluded. This means it may be worth looking for additional research literature when considering investment.

Add your recommendations

We will be interested to receive your recommendations for any other available research we could reference on the site. Please use the one-click Feedback box available on the left of every page.