Good Practice Action 12: Disseminate findings in accessible, inclusive formats to support uptake
Disseminate findings in accessible, inclusive formats, and mobilise knowledge to support equity and uptake into policy and practice
The results of the trial must reach all relevant audiences, and the information must be accessible, and readily useable to inform policy. It is unethical to withhold the findings from relevant stakeholders. The findings must be shared in a way that can be clearly understood by all involved, and that support effective translation into policy or practice changes. Without this, the time and resource spent on the trial is wasteful.
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Trial teams and others should:
Trials must have good external validity, meaning that their applicability is well matched to the planned context. Research teams will design the trial to be inclusive of all who could benefit, making use of the Inclusive Trials Resources, mentioned earlier in Good Practice Action 2, Good Practice Action 3 and Good Practice Action 9.
Trial teams should start by thinking carefully about who needs to be served by the research, and therefore who needs to be included in the trial. Research teams can refer to the PRO EDI tool (mentioned earlier in Good Practice Action 2 and Good Practice Action 4) to ensure a core set of characteristics, and additional characteristics as relevant when designing the trial.
For trials that intend to be directly relevant for policy and practice change, trials must move towards pragmatic rather than explanatory approaches. A pragmatic approach can be designed with the help of tools such as PRECIS-2, mentioned earlier in Good Practice Action 4.
Helpful guidance for sharing trial results with everyone that needs to know in an appropriate way is given in the RESPECT framework (see below, Table 1). An example of using the RESPECT framework is the CHAPAS-4 trial working to improve the second-line treatment options for children living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.
Show RESPECT: Consideration for sharing results with trial participants | Actions for researchers |
Supporting and preparing trial participants to receive results | Ensure participants are informed and ready to understand the results. |
How will the results reach participants? | Determine the most effective methods for delivering results to participants. |
Who are the trial participants? | Consider the diverse backgrounds and needs of the participants. |
Results (what do they show?) | Present the findings in a clear and understandable manner. |
Special considerations | Address any unique factors that may affect participants’ understanding or reception of the results. |
Provider (who will share results with participants?) | Identify the appropriate individuals or teams responsible for communicating the results. |
Expertise and resources | Assess the skills and resources needed to effectively share the results. |
Communication tools | Select the appropriate tools and platforms for disseminating the results. |
Timing of sharing results | Determine the optimal timing for releasing the results to participants. |
Table 1: The Show RESPECT framework, from South et al., 2024
Ensure that everyone is proactively given the opportunity to know about the trial findings. Engage with policymakers, practitioners and communities from early on to support uptake of the results into practice at local, national and international levels. Resources for establishing and maintaining quality relationships built on trust can be found in Good Practice Action 3.
Work by Bruhn and colleagues highlights four key questions that should be covered in summaries prepared for clinical trial participants (Bruhn et al., 2022). This offers trial teams clear guidance on the ‘what, how, when and who’ of sharing results summaries appropriately with participants:
- What did the trial set out to answer?
- What did the trial find?
- What effect have the trial results had and how will they change health service or treatment?
- How can I find out more?
Participants may not want to know about the results of a clinical trial, and this should be offered as a choice at the outset. Where consent is given by a carer/guardian rather than the participant themselves, it may be appropriate to offer results to the person who provided consent in addition to/instead of the participant themselves (South et al., 2025).
How funders can ensure this happens
- Funders can point research teams to resources, such as those above, to help them include the right people in their trial, which will allow the trial to report fully for health equity.
- Ask research teams about their plans for engaging with policymakers, practitioners and communities from early on and throughout the trial life cycle.
- Ask how the results will be shared with participants, healthcare professionals, the public and others.