Using Wikipedia to disseminate health and care research

This film from teh NIHR has Wikipedian-in-Residence, Adam Harangozo, exploring the ways in which Wikipedia can be a powerful tool for sharing knowledge and research for health and care researchers, and opportunities to engage with your projects.

Key aspects of using Wikipedia for this purpose include:

• Broad Reach and Accessibility: Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites globally, making it a powerful tool for disseminating research to a diverse and extensive audience.
• Public Engagement: It provides an opportunity for researchers to engage with the public directly, presenting complex health and care information in a more understandable and accessible format.
• Updating Medical Content: Researchers can contribute to the accuracy and currentness of medical and health information on Wikipedia, ensuring that the latest research findings are reflected.
• Global Impact: Given its global reach, information disseminated through Wikipedia can have a significant impact on international health education and awareness.
• Challenges and Considerations: Accuracy and reliability are crucial, especially given the open-edit nature of Wikipedia. Researchers must be vigilant in ensuring that the information is evidence-based and regularly updated.
• Collaboration and Training: Collaboration between researchers, healthcare professionals, and experienced Wikipedia editors can enhance the quality of the content. Training for researchers on how to effectively edit and contribute to Wikipedia might be necessary.
• Ethical and Professional Considerations: Researchers need to navigate ethical considerations, such as maintaining neutrality and not using Wikipedia for self-promotion or to push a particular agenda.

Overall, using Wikipedia to disseminate health and care research offers an innovative way to bridge the gap between research findings and public knowledge, potentially leading to better-informed healthcare decisions and awareness. However, it requires careful consideration of the platform’s limitations and adherence to its community guidelines to ensure information accuracy and reliability.

Visit the Wikipedia website.