Funding and Performance on Clinical Guidelines: The Cases of Dementia and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

In September 2009, the United Kingdom (UK) Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health (England) commissioned RAND Europe to investigate the characteristics of research cited in two UK clinical guidelines: Dementia and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The exploratory work is part of an overall drive among funders to understand better how research reaches policy and practice. The objectives of our exploratory study were to understand the following questions.What are the characteristics of publications cited in these clinical guidelines?On those papers with a UK affiliation, who funded the research cited in these clinical guidelines?