Chapter 9: Dissemination and publishing of the Top 10

Agreeing the Top 10 research priorities is not the end of a Priority Setting Partnership’s (PSP’s) work.  It is essential that PSPs publicise and disseminate the results of their priority setting exercise.  This will increase the exposure of the priorities to potential funders and researchers.  It is also an opportunity to promote the priority setting process itself.

Steering Groups should create a dissemination plan for the results, identifying their audiences and how to reach them, and agreeing how Steering Group members can help with the dissemination process by using their own networks.  This might include finding appropriate ways to disseminate the priorities to funding organisations, researchers, people who took part in the PSP, and patient and clinician groups who have an interest in the priorities.  Dissemination at the end of the PSP should be a consideration throughout the PSP process to maximise its success.  Before the priority setting workshop, the Steering Group should agree on the best time to announce the results to ensure the greatest impact, without delaying the announcement for too long.  After the workshop, Steering Groups typically meet to discuss the results, any further action that they need to take on the questions, and what extra information they can offer to researchers and research funders to ensure that the priorities are successfully translated into questions, propositions or briefs for research.

Members of PSP Steering Groups will often have access to existing ways of communicating the results of the PSP.  These could include:

  • newsletters
  • websites
  • relationships with sector publications/journals
  • relationships with funding charities
  • presentations at conferences and workshops
  • mainstream and social media.

PSPs usually report on the whole process and methods, the people involved, the results, reflect on successes, lessons learned or limitations, and the next steps.  It is important that these reports are written in language accessible to everyone with an interest in the condition, not just those who are medically trained.  

The PSP needs to ensure the correct consent has been sought for any materials that will go into the public domain, for example that agreements have been sought with individuals to use photographs or any quotes that are associated with a name.  Even if names are not to be included, descriptions of individuals should also be unrecognisable.  Although this means individual names are not associated with particular contributions, it is important to acknowledge those who have given time and effort to the PSP.  

PSPs should email their fully completed data management spreadsheet to the JLA as soon as possible after the workshop as this will be included on the JLA website.  The Mesothelioma PSP shows an example of a completed spreadsheet. 

There are a range of final reports, of varying lengths, in the PSP final reports section of the JLA website.

PSPs may also consider submitting an article about their work to an academic medical journal, such as the British Medical Journal, The Lancet or Research Involvement and Engagement.

The many articles which have been published about PSPs can be seen on the JLA website.

In 2019, a ‘Reporting Guideline for priority setting of health research (REPRISE)’ was published to help facilitate comprehensive reporting of priority setting activity and improve transparency. 

The JLA actively encourages PSPs to keep us informed of any publicity generated by their priority setting activities.  Please contact us to share this information on jla@soton.ac.uk.