In 2019, Cochrane developed the Dissemination Checklist - a user-tested, evidence-informed resource to improve the quality of dissemination products from Cochrane Reviews. You can access this checklist and associated resources here.
To help people apply this checklist in practice, we developed an online course based on the checklist called “Dissemination Essentials”. The course took approximately 100 people across Cochrane who are involved in disseminating the results of Cochrane reviews through a 7-month (April to November 2021), interactive online learning experience. Subject matter experts from across Cochrane developed webinars and activities to help people apply the principles of good dissemination in practice. A selection of resources developed for this course are presented below, by module:
If you have any questions about these resources or Dissemination Essentials, please contact support@cochrane.org.
Module 1: Considering and involving your target audience
This module focused on the audience of dissemination products - who are they and what is the best way to reach them? First, we considered how we identify our target audience and importantly how to best engage them. We also introduced the need to tailor a dissemination product and the dissemination channel to the target audience. We addressed the important area of co-production and how you can involve your target audience in the development of your dissemination product. Looking to the future, we presented the challenges in trying to keep pace with quickly evolving audience requirements in the social media jungle, and how analytics can be used smartly to help us do this.
Trainers for this module were Jess Hendon and Shauna Hurley.
Module 2: Ensuring a reasonable representation of the evidence
This module was about effectively and accurately translating evidence from reviews to your dissemination products. The module covered avoiding misleading interpretations of the results, presenting the numerical results of a review clearly and describing the certainty of the evidence.
Trainers for this module were Liz Bickerdike, Nuala Livingstone and Claire Glenton.
- Webinar recording
- Quiz: Assessing narrative statements about the main results
- Homework task: Preparing narrative statements about the main results
- Solution to the homework task
Module 3: Plain language: how to make sure your readers understand you
This module was all about writing, and the words and phrases we use. The way we write and phrase information influences whether people can understand it. Understanding is the crucial step for people to use information from dissemination products to make decisions.
Trainers for this module were Denise Mitchell and Georg Rüschemeyer.
- Webinar recording
- Quiz: How to say it in plain language
- Plain language summary template and guidance
Module 4: Making it readable: how to organise your information
In this module we explored how the way that you organize information can influence how readable it is. We covered tips for structuring content, such as ‘layering’ content by providing the most important information upfront and giving readers the option to access more detail on demand. We also covered how to make your content easy to scan and read, and ultimately increase the chance that your audiences will understand it.
Trainers for this module were Emma Thompson and Eve Tomlinson.
Module 5: Connecting with people
This module was about making the information relevant, relatable and engaging for your target audiences; sensitively handling topics or findings that may be upsetting, controversial, or disappointing; and avoiding giving recommendations.
Trainers for this module were Sarah Chapman, Selena Ryan-Vig, and Moriam Chibuzor.
Module 6: Ensuring transparency and building trust and Evaluating your dissemination
In this module, we talked about ensuring transparency and building trust.
Trainers for this module were Stephanie Lagosky, Elena Kostova and Juliane Ried.
Also, we introduced a brief template to help you think about evaluating your dissemination work. The final item on the list below is the link to the full resource on evaluation that Cochrane developed. This resource has a large number of tools and resources to help you evaluate how you spread, share and advocate for evidence.
For any questions related to Dissemination Essentials training materials, contact support@cochrane.org