Question 9: Does it describe how each treatment works?
What the question is about and why it is important
A good quality publication will include information about how a treatment acts on the body and in what way it ‘treats’ or affects the condition or its symptoms. This may include details of how the treatment is given (or administered). Details of how a treatment works are important, as they enable you to understand a treatment and help you to decide whether it is appropriate for you.
Rating the question
The question is only concerned with the treatment or treatments described in the publication.
Guidelines for rating the question:
5: Yes - the description of each treatment includes details of how it works.
2 - 4: Partially - the description of some but not all of the treatments includes details of how treatment works, or the details provided are unclear or incomplete.
1: No - none of the descriptions about treatments include details of how treatment works.
Example
5 rating (a single treatment publication):
‘Treatment X will stabilise your condition. The treatment is given as a high dosage daily injection over a period of two to three weeks. As the treatment circulates in the blood stream, it reaches cells all over the body and prevents the virus from reproducing and spreading.’
A publication concerned with more than one treatment will be rated 5 if similar descriptions are provided for each treatment mentioned.