Pasienten som medvirker og kunnskapshåndterer

Abstract

A prerequisite for an evidence based health care is that patients take part in decisions about their own and others' health care. This requires access to reliable information and competence in applying it. The central arena for patient participation is the meeting between patient and health professional, but other important areas of involvement include decisions at the system and policy levels. Measures to promote patient access to reliable health information can be divided into three categories. The first entails that researchers, health personnel and other professionals quality assess, summarise and communicate the best available evidence. The second relates mainly to online information and how information is filtered either manually by experts or by automated search engines. The third types of measures are those where patients are trained, for example in the form of courses, or by the use of checklists and other resources, to enhance their skills in critical appraisal of research.