Lessons from working across fields to develop a framework for informed choices

Stewart, Ruth; Aronson, Jeffrey K.; Barends, Eric; Boruch, Robert; Brennan, Marnie; Chislett, Joe; Cunliffe-Jones, Peter; Maynard, Brandy; Oxman, Matt; Pullin, Andrew; Randall, Nicola; Sharples, Jonathan; Stott, Janet; Vale, Luke

Abstract

In late 2018, Iain Chalmers, Andy Oxman and others from the Informed Health Choices team convened a cross-field forum to develop a generic framework of key concepts for thinking critically about claims, research and choices about interventions, with the aim of supporting ‘informed choices’. We define an informed choice as one that is based on critical understanding of the relevant available evidence. This paper describes the process of that cross-field engagement, and reflects on how consensus was reached on the generic framework. Working in an alliance of 24 researchers from across fields to develop the Key Concepts for Informed Choices framework, we learned three lessons about cross-field working: (1) there was much agreement, despite diversity of views and experiences; (2) the applications of our work were broader than we could have imagined; and (3) we identified a wide range of problems that we have in common when making informed choices. Here we describe our experience of working together to develop the framework, and draw out lessons for others who may be involved in similar cross-field initiatives.

Citation

Stewart, R., Aronson, J. K., Barends, E., Boruch, R., Brennan, M., Chislett, J., Cunliffe-Jones, P., Maynard, B., Oxman, M., Pullin, A., Randall, N., Sharples, J., Stott, J., & Vale, L. (2022). Lessons from working across fields to develop a framework for informed choices. Research for All, 6(1), https://doi.org/10.14324/rfa.06.1.05

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 8, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Feb 8, 2022
• Publication Date: Feb 8, 2022
• Deposit Date: Mar 18, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 18, 2022
• Journal: Research for All
• Electronic ISSN: 2399-8121
• Publisher: UCL IOE Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/rfa.06.1.05
• Keywords: Cross-field; interdisciplinary; transdisciplinary; informed choices; consensus; evidence
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7610501
• Publisher URL: https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14324/RFA.06.1.05