Research tips: Keep your finger on the pulse of medical research

In sickness and in health

Keep your finger on the pulse of medical research with advice from Tarja Moles

Health, wellbeing and illnesses are topics that encompass numerous aspects to write about, including medical conditions and their treatments, healthy living, personal accounts of coping with an illness, history of healthcare and ethical issues. There are different types of sources that you can use – and it ’ s your focus that ’ll guide you in terms of which sources are the most relevant and appropriate for you. Here ’ s an introduction to some that may be of use.

Information in plain language Health-related material can be full of specialist terminology. If you haven ’ t gone to medical school, such information may be difficult to understand. This doesn ’ t, however, mean that medical topics are out of bounds. There are plenty of sources that are aimed at non-specialists and have been written in plain language. Nevertheless, it ’ s advantageous to learn at least some terminology. You can do this with the help of medical dictionaries, such as those at https://medlineplus. gov/encyclopedia.html, www.merriam-webster.com/ medical and www.online-medical-dictionary.org.

There are lots of books, magazines and websites suitable for non-specialist researchers. As new research results are published all the time, it ’ s worth noting that information in books may become outdated quickly. In this respect, websites, magazines and journals are likely to offer more up-to-date material.

When searching online, there ’ s always the possibility – indeed, likelihood – of coming across dubious reports. Before you use any information, make sure the website is reputable. For example, the NHS (www. nhs.uk), the Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.com) and Medline Plus (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus) are comprehensive sites that have been compiled by experts. They have information on medical conditions, treatments and medicines.

Newspapers are the most up-to-date sources for latest plain-language research. However, sometimes their articles can be simplistic – especially if they are very short and/or appear in tabloids. Therefore, by all means explore the articles, but then go to the original source to check the facts and establish that the tabloid wasn ’ t merely presenting an attention-grabbing headline instead of an accurate account of the subject matter.

Academic sources The latest health-related research tends to appear first in academic journals. You can search for articles, for instance, through the PubMed interface (https://writ.rs/ pubmed). It ’ s a major database in the field of biomedical literature drawn from the US National Library of Medicine ’ s catalogue, life science journals and online books. Although it allows you to read abstracts and any open-access material in full, you ’ll need to pay to see articles in cases where publishers haven ’ t made their content readily available.

When exploring academic sources, you ’ re likely to read conflicting views and research results. It can be difficult to establish what to believe. Fortunately, there are organisations that vet the available results and use evidence-based techniques to determine what the most accurate information is. For example, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (www.nice.org.uk) and the Cochrane Library (www. thecochranelibrary.com) provide independent and evidence-based guidance on conditions, treatments and public health issues.

Non-mainstream information If you ’ re critical about the Western approach to health and wellbeing, there ’ s an increasing body of sources that offer alternative and/or complementary information. So, whether you ’ re interested in Ayurveda, shamanic healing or acupressure, it ’ s not difficult to find material.

While you ’ re researching, assess the reliability of the information you find. For instance, watch out for well-meaning self-proclaimed experts who disseminate misleading advice, crooks promising miracle cures in exchange for a high fee, and toogood-to-be-true anecdotes suggesting success in a particular kind of treatment.

Historical approach If you ’ re interested in the history of diseases and healthcare, there are plenty of resources available. For example, Wellcome Collection (https://