If you are a patient (or someone with personal experience of a health condition), a care-giver or family member of someone with a health condition, or someone who supports healthcare consumers, the links below are intended to help you find helpful evidence so that you can make informed choices.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)The World Health Organisation's advice for the public about Coronavirus COVID-19, available here. The World Health Organisation's Myth busters series offers practical advice for the public. This page shows how Cochrane is responding to the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. |  |
Information about health conditionsWorld Health Organisation: WHO works with 194 Member States, united in a shared commitment to achieve better health for everyone, everywhere. Here is an A – Z of health conditions. UK National Health Service: provides an A to Z list of information about health conditions. Patient: Patient is an independent health platform containing over 4000 health information leaflets and thousands of discussion forums. |  |
Real life experience of ill healthHealthtalk.org: healthtalk.org provides free, reliable information about health issues, by sharing people's real-life experiences. Healthline: Healthline provides guidance for "...the best possible health outcomes for you and your family.” Evidently Cochrane: Health evidence presented in an interesting and accessible way in English including consumers’ stories of using evidence. The Patient Experience Library: A (UK) patient's-eye view of service quality |  |
Help to make decisions about treatmentsPatient Revolution: Resources for people who need to have conversations with their health care professional about treatments. UK NHS Shared Decision Making: Shared decision making (SDM) is the conversation that happens between a patient and their health professional to reach a healthcare choice together. Decision aids: There is a range of organisations that offer tools to help patients make decisions about treatment options. These include, Decision Grid, Choosing Wisely, Ottawa Personal Decision Guides and InforMED - Patient Decision Aids. Watch Karen's video where she explains how she used Cochrane evidence as part of her shared decision making experience. |  |
Help make sense of researchGET-IT Glossary: Plain language definitions of health research terms. Learning for consumers - a pathway: Online resources to help health care consumers interested in health research find out more about clinical trials and systematic reviews. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme: Tools to help you make sense of research. Testing Treatments: Making sense of claims about treatments. Download your FREE copy by Imogen Evans, Hazel Thornton, Iain Chalmers and Paul Glasziou. |  |