TY - JOUR T1 - Responsible dissemination of health and medical research: some guidance points JF - BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine JO - BMJ EBM DO - 10.1136/bmjebm-2022-111967 SP - bmjebm-2022-111967 AU - Raffaella Ravinetto AU - Jerome Amir Singh Y1 - 2022/09/02 UR - http://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2022/09/01/bmjebm-2022-111967.abstract N2 - Dissemination has been defined as ‘the targeted distribution of information and intervention materials to a specific public health or clinical practice audience’,1 and as being ‘simply about getting the findings of your research to the people who can make use of them, to maximise the benefit of the research without delay’.2 Ethics guidelines concur that research stakeholders have ethical obligations to disseminate positive, inconclusive or negative results,3 in an accurate, comprehensive and transparent way4—even more so during public health emergencies.5Traditionally, research results were first shared within the scientific community, and then ‘translated’ into lay language for policymakers and other audiences via the media, policy briefs, lobbying. Today, preprints6 and press releases7 often come first. Dissemination of research findings to research participants and communities requires contextualised approaches and have been explored elsewhere.4 Similarly, trial registries8 and data sharing are explored elsewhere in this series. Here, we navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by dissemination through peer-review publications, abstracts, preprints, press release, media coverage and social media (box 1—summary of research dissemination).Box 1 Summary of research disseminationWhat—Dissemination of health and medical research entails communicating the findings of research to stakeholders in ways that can facilitate understanding and use.Why—Any positive, inconclusive or negative research findings should be disseminated to maximise the social value of the research and to accurately inform medical policies and practices.When—Dissemination of health and medical research should occur as soon as possible after completion of interim and final analysis, particularly during public health emergencies.Who—Researchers, research institutions, sponsors, developers, publishers and editors must ensure the timely and accurate dissemination of research findings. Similarly, the scientific community should critically appraise research findings; policymakers and clinicians should weigh the implications of research findings for policy and clinical practice; … ER -