Plain language summaries: enhancing patient-centred care and improving accessibility of health research

Introduction As part of the Open Science movement, plain language summaries (PLSs) could make scientific research more understandable and accessible to all audiences. They aim to clearly communicate research results without using technical language.1 Regulatory bodies increasingly require these summaries to disseminate clinical studies’ results as part of the efforts to make them more transparent to the public.2 For example, the European Union Clinical Trials Regulation and the Dutch Ethics Committee require clinical trials to provide public summaries adapted for non-medical audiences within 6–12 months after completion. In the USA, the National Institutes of Health promotes broad and transparent dissemination of clinical trial information, and both the Plain Writing Act and Final Rule support plain language in clinical studies. However, PLS application into practice is still inconsistent, heterogeneous and encounters resistance.3–5 For example, there is no consensus on...
Source: Evidence-Based Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Analysis Source Type: research