Background: The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination actively disseminates the findings of reviews. We recently undertook two related systematic reviews, one on barriers to participation in cancer trials and one on interventions to increase participation. The findings from both reviews were inconclusive, making dissemination of the key messages potentially more difficult. This is a common situation when disseminating the findings of systematic reviews. The review of barriers to participation concluded that it was not possible to identify barriers in a clear, reliable and consistent way. The review of interventions to increase participation concluded that there was no evidence that any of the interventions increased patient participation. Therefore, neither review provided easy answers to those involved in patient recruitment.

Objectives: To describe the dissemination strategy we developed, the thinking behind this and to discuss the challenges and our experiences.

Methods: We will outline the dissemination strategy used and illustrate the importance of taking an active dissemination approach with reference to two systematic reviews.

Results: In addition to the main report for each review we produced a joint summary report for distribution, together with a press release. Printed and electronic formats were used. To provide a more holistic view of the situation in relation to cancer trial participation we disseminated both reports together. We also had to reconsider who the target audience was. Timing was important as the summary report was circulated at the time when participation in trials was a very active issue in the media due to the severe adverse reactions of six volunteers during Phase I testing of TGN 1412.

Conclusions: The characteristics of the research message are important when developing a dissemination strategy and an active approach is essential.