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* HIPPO *
* http://www.icru.no/hippo/cholesterol/ *
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What is the best way to present information about the effects of health
care?
The HIPPO project (Health Information Project: Presentation On-line)
comprises a series of randomized trials on the Internet. Our aim is to find
out which ways of presenting information about the effects of healthcare
best help people to make choices that are consistent with their own values.
Information about risk, uncertainty and the effects of healthcare is
presented using a variety of terminology, statistics and graphics that is
often confusing for both the general public and healthcare professionals.
From earlier research, we know that the way information is presented can
affect decisions about healthcare. However, very little is known about which
ways best help people to make decisions that are consistent with their own
values.
The first HIPPO study compares different ways of presenting the reduction in
risk of heart disease to people who are asked to make a decision about
whether to take cholesterol-lowering medication. Future studies will compare
different ways of presenting information to people making choices such as
whether to have surgery for herniated disc with sciatica, about other
treatments for back problems and other conditions, and about preventive
interventions, such as screening tests.
The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council and has been
approved by the ethics board at the University of Buffalo.
You can read more about HIPPO by going to our website
(http://www.icru.no/hippo/cholesterol/) or by contacting us directly.
Questions and suggestions can be sent to Cheryl Carling
<cheryl.carling@shdir.no> at the Directorate for Health and Social Welfare in
Norway, Holger Schunemann <hjs@buffalo.edu> at the University of Buffalo in
New York or Jeph Herrin <herrin@flyingbuttress.net>.
