Your research has been broadcast to millions - but how do you determine its impact?

The potential of broadcast programming to reach millions of people holds obvious appeal to researchers looking to maximise the dissemination of their work. But when it comes to impact, having vast reach is just one part of the equation - how can the significance of broadcast research be determined? Melissa Grant, Lucy Vernall and Kirsty Hill developed a mixed-methods approach, using questionnaires and focus groups, that sought to measure the impact of health-related research broadcast in two programmes on prime time television. Follow-up work conducted after the broadcasts showed that participants’ understanding of the issues had subsequently been enhanced, with a number revealing that they had changed their behaviours as a result of the research.