Rapid Responses to:

ANALYSIS: Jonathan Lomas The in-between world of knowledge brokering BMJ 2007; 334: 129-132 [Full text]

Rapid Responses: Submit a response to this article

Rapid Responses published:

Wherever possible, research communication should be based on the scientific cumulation of knowledge

Neil Pakenham-Walsh   (21 January 2007)

The NHS has a network of knowledge brokers

Ben Toth   (2 February 2007)

Wherever possible, research communication should be based on the scientific cumulation of knowledge 21 January 2007
Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Coordinator, HIFA2015 Campaign 16 Woodfield Drive, Charlbury OX7 3SE Send response to journal: Re: Wherever possible, research communication should be based on the scientific cumulation of knowledge	Jonathan Lomas omits to highlight a critical aspect of research communication: systematic review. By doing so, his analysis risks perpetuating the common and dangerous misconception that successful research communication is equivalent to translating the conclusions of a research study into practice. As Iain Chalmers and others have argued for many years, successful research communication must, wherever possible, be based on the scientific cumulation of research knowledge, not the individual study. Communicators or 'knowledge brokers' who ignore this are likely to end up misleading, advertently or inadvertently, the decision makers they are seeking to inform. Readers with an interest in research communication and healthcare in developing countries are invited to join the global HIFA2015 email discussion group (Healthcare Information For All by 2015): to join, send your name, organisation and brief description of your professional interests to hifa2015-admin@dgroups.org Neil Pakenham-Walsh MB,BS Coordinator, HIFA2015 Campaign Coordinator, Global Healthcare Information Network 16 Woodfield Drive Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3SE, UK Email: neil.pakenham-walsh@ghi-net.org Web: http://www.ghi-net.org Web (HIFA2015): http://www.hifa2015.org HIFA2015 email group: http://www.dgroups.org/groups/hifa2015 CHILD2015 email group: http://www.dgroups.org/groups/child2015 "Healthcare Information For All by 2015: By 2015, every person worldwide will have access to an informed healthcare provider" Competing interests: None declared
The NHS has a network of knowledge brokers 2 February 2007
Ben Toth, Chief Executive Health Perspectives Send response to journal: Re: The NHS has a network of knowledge brokers	Jonathan Lomas is right to identify the need for knowledge brokering, and much the same point was made in the recent Cooksey review of UK health research. The NHS already has a network of knowledge brokers, for which it pays well over £50m a year. The network consists of around 1000 library staff and 500 access points, but is not sufficiently 'tuned' to provide knowledge brokering. This is unfortunate, since the application of knowledge to support quality of care should be the chief priority of NHS expenditure on library and information services. Competing interests: None declared