Background: People are frequently exposed to claims about the effects of health care. To make sense of this information, the public—including consumers, journalists, and decision-makers—need to know how to question and interpret the information presented, and when to seek additional information. Objectives: To create an inventory of interactive tools that teach the public the necessary skills to become critical consumers of health information. Methods: We systematically performed web (Google) and database (Medline) searches, and solicited input from key informants to identify tools which teach the public how to interpret information about the effects of health care. We included tools that are interactive (i.e. allow for some kind of two-way transfer of information), open-access, free, and web-based or downloadable. Potentially eligible tools were screened and coded independently by 2 of the authors. Results: Of the 3,148 potential tools initially identified, 63 were interactive and web-based or downloadable, including 20 which were free and open access (1 from the Medline database search, 9 from key informants, 10 from the web search). Among these, 15 targeted medical professionals/students. Only 5 targeted the public (4 in English, 1 in Italian). Interactive elements of these tools included: multimedia presentations (e.g. narrated PowerPoint presentation, cartoon animation), quizzes (users enter answers and receive feedback), and an annotated newspaper story. Skills covered included: study design, bias, risk, where and how to search, and how to appraise research evidence. Only 1 of the tools underwent formal evaluation for effectiveness (a non-randomized, controlled study). Conclusions: Few free open-access interactive tools are available to help people become critical consumers of information about the effects of health care.

Abstracts of the 19th Cochrane Colloquium, Madrid, Spain, 2011, 157.