Concepts about claims
Watch out for messages that are too good to be true.
Messages that ignore harms
Messages that exaggerate effects
Messages that are too sure
Messages that are too exact
Messages with no comparison
Watch out for mistaken beliefs about research.
Belief in theories
Belief that association means causation
Belief in big data
Belief in single studies
Belief that research isn’t relevant to real life
Watch out for misconceptions about health actions.
Belief that treatment is needed
Belief that more treatment is better
Belief that commonly-used means effective
Belief that new is better
Belief that early detection is better
Watch out for mistaken beliefs about sources.
Trust in personal experiences
Trust in beliefs
Trust in expert opinions
Trust in publication
Trust that there are no competing interests
Concepts about evidence
Look for fair comparisons.
Similar comparison groups
Similar care
Participants unaware of health action
Consistently-measured outcomes
Reliably measured outcomes
Little loss to follow up
Outcomes counted in the right group
Look for reliable summaries.
Systematic summaries
Unpublished results considered
Direct comparisons
Assumptions tested
Look for differences.
Words alone
Relative effects
Average effects
Not enough evidence
Look for the margin of error.
Small studies
Subgroup analyses
P-values
Statical significance
Concepts about choices
Consider how relevant the available research is.
Clear problem and options
Relevant outcomes
Relevant participants
Relevant health actions
Relevant circumstances
Consider whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Benefits and harms
Baseline risk
Importance of each benefit and harm
Certainty of the evidence
More evidence needed