Table 3 Six groups of concepts that people need to understand and apply to be able to assess treatment claims and make informed health care choices [31]

1. Recognising the need for fair comparisons of treatments

2. Judging whether a comparison of treatments is a fair comparison

3. Understanding the role of chance

4. Considering all the relevant fair comparisons

5. Understanding the results of fair comparisons of treatments

6. Judging whether fair comparisons of treatments are relevant