Alerting people to health research

Martha Powell introduces a new digital resource providing summaries of health and care research findings

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Martha Powell is communications and marketing manager at the NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination

I joined the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on the same day the NIHR Evidence website launched. During my first few months it’s been exciting to get to grips with the site, to see the first NIHR Alerts published, and to see them become established as I’ve settled into my new role. 

NIHR Evidence publishes high-quality, user-friendly summaries of evidence intended to inform improvements in health and social care policy and practice.

We have three formats:  

  • Alerts – short summaries of the latest health research presented in plain English 
  • Collections – compilations of alerts on specific topics with reader commentary 
  • Themed Reviews – specially created reviews of recent research on topics of strategic importance for the UK health and social care system 

    Our first Collection and Themed Review are currently in the pipeline, and both will focus on different aspects of Covid-19.  

    We hope that by providing summaries of health and care research findings in collaboration with those who might use them we will ensure they can be discovered, read and used by anybody.

    Our most visible work in the early stages of the site has been on the Alerts. Every month, our team screens the literature looking for NIHR-funded studies that could have implications for practice, narrowing down the selection – with the help of our editorial board – to a handful of papers that are the most topical or impactful. 

    Each paper is reviewed by both professional and public reviewers, and we’ve been working hard to recruit these invaluable contributors over the past few months. The Alert is written in a simple question and answer format. 

    More information

    Martha Powell is communications and marketing manager at the NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination 

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