 |
UK DUETs: A resource to make uncertainties explicit and to help prioritise new research |
Why is it important to be explicit about treatment uncertainties?
People have suffered and died unnecessarily because uncertainties about the effects of treatments have not been addressed in research (
Confronting Therapeutic Uncertainty; Well informed uncertainties about the effects of treatments). Patients and the public have a right to expect that research funders, researchers and health professionals will identify uncertainties about whether treatments are doing more harm than good, and should expect them to organise the research needed to reduce the most important of these uncertainties. Indeed, the General Medical Council’s advice to doctors is that they "must work with colleagues and patients...to help resolve uncertainties about the effects of treatments" (
Good Medical Practice, para 14f, page 13).
What is UK DUETs?
The UK Database of Uncertainties about the Effects of Treatments (UK DUETs) has been established in the UK to publish uncertainties about the effects of treatment which cannot currently be answered by referring to reliable up-to-date systematic reviews of existing research evidence. Systematic reviews are based on worldwide searches for reliable, relevant evidence, analysed using methods to reduce biases and the play of chance. More detailed information about systematic reviews and fair tests of the effects of medical treatments is available in the James Lind Library.
UK DUETs draws on three main sources to identify uncertainties about the effects of treatments
-
patients', carers' and clinicians' questions about the effects of treatments
-
research recommendations in reports of systematic reviews and clinical guidelines
-
ongoing research, both systematic reviews in preparation and new 'primary' studies
UK DUETs does not include unanswered questions about the frequency, causes and diagnosis of health problems.
What is UK DUETs for?
UK DUETs is being developed to make uncertainties explicit and to help those prioritising research in the UK to take account of the information needs of patients, carers and clinicians. The research needed may entail preparation of reliable up-to-date systematic reviews of existing evidence, if these are not available, or research to generate additional evidence if reliable up-to-date systematic reviews make clear that this is necessary. [More about uncertainties...]
Who contributes to UK DUETs?
The search for uncertainties for inclusion in UK DUETs is currently restricted to contributors within the UK, with a view to informing prioritisation decisions for new research within the UK.
What does the UK DUETs logo mean?
Many people are familiar with the ancient apothecaries' 
symbol because it is still used today on some treatment prescriptions [more about the history of the symbol...]. The question mark emphasises that we need to identify and record important uncertainties about the effects of treatments.
