Patient resources

Online

Bandolier "evidence-based thinking about health care" 

Behind the Headlines (from the NHS Knowledge Service) "an unbiased and evidence-based analysis of health stories that make the news ... intended for both the public and health professionals"

Childbirth Connection offers up-to-date evidence-based information and resources on planning for pregnancy, labor and birth, and the postpartum period.

Cochrane Consumer Network

The Cochrane Collaboration offers free access to the abstracts and plain language summaries of all Cochrane Reviews

Best Health from the BMJ Evidence Centre : information for patients; fee-based 

Health Behavior News Service: Translating Evidence into News publishes news stories covering new studies and systematic reviews with the goal "to present the facts for readers to understand and use for themselves to make informed choices about health and health care".

HealthNewsReview.org assesses the accuracy of news stories about medical treatments in order to improve the reporting and to help consumers evaluate the evidence

healthtalkonline.org : database of personal and patient experiences from the Health Experiences Research Group at the University of Oxford

Informed Health Online from IQWiG (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care) : research summaries for consumers (English/German) 

The Lundberg Institute works "to forge a patient-physician alliance based on trust, providing research, education, leadership, strategies, and communications that promote evidence-informed, efficient, and effective health care delivery to benefit the health and well-being of patients, physicians, and the public."

Patient Decision Aids from the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group offers patient information sheets (PDFs for download) on treatments for osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis; free

P.E.A.R.L.S. (practical evidence about real life situations), produced by the Cochrane Primary Care Field, a collection of evidence summaries for GPs and consumers. Courriels (French PEARLS)

Physiotherapy Choices from the Centre of Evidence-Based Physiotherapy (CEBP) : trials, reviews and guidelines; for patients; free

PubMed Health from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) offers "reviews of clinical effectiveness research, with easy-to-read summaries for consumers as well as full technical reports".

Special Collections from The Cochrane Library from Wiley : thematic collections of evidence on topics such as tobacco addition, breast cancer, and more; free

Testing Treatments, 2nd edition, 2011 (see also below)

UK Prostate Link : portal to prostate cancer information (from The Prostate Cancer Charity)

YourHealthNet from the Centre for Health Communication and Participation with support from the Australasian Cochrane Centre "explains evidence-based health research and systematic reviews in a visually appealing and user-friendly way."

Also see Web 2.0 (social media) resources for easy ways to keep up-to-date.

Books

Irwig L, et al. Smart Health Choices: Making Sense of Health Advice. London: Hammersmith Press; 2008. Available online and in print.

Evans I, et al. Testing Treatments: Better Research for Better Healthcare. 2nd edition. London: Pinter & Martin; 2011. Available online and in print.

This list does not aim to be comprehensive, but it is updated regularly. Suggestions and feedback are welcome at web@cochrane.org.