Table 3 Frequency of 38 suggested lay summary characteristics ordered by percentage (n = 79)
# | EU-CTR and non-EU-CTR principles | Characteristics | n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Health literacy | Avoiding jargon, technical, medical, or scientific language | 63 (78%) |
2 | Health literacy | Removing unnecessary or complex words and/or avoid long sentences | 48 (60%) |
3 | Health literacy | Using active, rather than passive, voice | 38 (48%) |
4 | Health literacy | Using visuals (e.g., simple graphs, tables) to convey messages when helpful | 37 (46%) |
5 | Health literacy | Being consistent in the use of terms/words throughout the document, and define them | 35 (44%) |
6 | Readability | Using a language-specific reading test | 24 (30%) |
7 | Health literacy | Including links to additional information and resources for online summaries and background, | 17 (21%) |
8 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Mentioning funders’/ sponsors’ name(s) in the lay summary | 16 (20%) |
9 | Health literacy | Using bullet points instead of paragraphs | 15 (19%) |
10 | Numeracy | For statistics, presenting absolute numbers but also consider conveying numerical information in other ways such as a percentage, rather than relative risks, odds ratios, etc | 12 (15%) |
11 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Making sure that the lay summary is available relatively soon after the study | 12 (15%) |
12 | Language | Ensuring the summary remain factual and objective | 12 (15%) |
13 | Health literacy | Providing Adequate “white space” (1 or 2 lines) | 11(14%) |
14 | Readability | Providing link(s) to the original study | 11 (14%) |
15 | Readability | Avoiding any promotional language and promotion tone | 10 (13%) |
16 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Avoiding oversimplifying | 10 (13%) |
17 | Visual | Presenting visuals in a simple message with a clear labels and captions and simple textual explanation | 10 (13%) |
18 | Health literacy | Using a glossary in a lay summary | 9 (11%) |
19 | Numeracy | Using words not numbers in results | 9 (11%) |
20 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Mentioning search date/timescale | 9 (11%) |
21 | Health literacy | Presentation of the “big picture” before the detail | 7 (9%) |
22 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Focusing on person not the disability | 7 (9%) |
23 | Language | The summary needs to be provided according to the specific local language of stakeholders and/or the country where the study took place | 6 (8%) |
24 | Language | Including an English version if the trial was published in a non-English language | 5 (6%) |
25 | Language | Translated summaries should also be considered the cultural validity of the medical or technical terminology used | 5 (6%) |
26 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Using sentences in a positive form, | 5 (6%) |
27 | Health literacy | Using the most readable color combination: black text on a white background (Keep in mind how documents will look when online or printed), | 4 (5%) |
28 | Health literacy | Limiting the use of unnecessary imagery that does not enhance understanding, | 4 (5%) |
29 | Health literacy | Avoiding text in ALL CAPS and underlining | 4 (5%) |
30 | Visual | Considering the scales, you are using in any graph and whether the axes need to start at zero to avoid confusion | 4 (5%) |
31 | Visual | Considering creative solutions to ensure understanding could include cartoons and illustrations | 4 (5%) |
32 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Considering LS be indexed in PubMed | 4 (5%) |
33 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Spelling out abbreviations | 4 (5%) |
34 | Visual | Avoiding overly complex images, such as graphs showing several relationships, since they can be easily misinterpreted (e.g., misleading axes labels) | 3 (4%) |
35 | Numeracy | Using whole numbers rather than decimals to the extent. This is possible without increasing confusion should the lay summary be cross-referenced with the scientific summary | 3 (4%) |
36 | Health literacy | Using 12-point font, or ensuring the font size is large enough to read | 1 (1%) |
37 | Visual | Ensuring visuals or graphics are clear enough if printed in black and white | 1 (1%) |
38 | Additional non-EU characteristic | Using inclusive language (do not use she or he) | 1 (1%) |