| Ref ID | 843 |
| First Author | A. Banic |
| Journal | BMC MEDICAL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY |
| Year Of Publishing | 2022 |
| URL | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12874-022-01721-7 |
| Keywords |
• Abstract / summary • Language • Cochrane • Certainty |
| Problem(s) |
• Unwieldy/ difficult to read • Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews • Inconclusive or lack of recommendations |
| Article Type | Empirical |
| Article Subtype | Cross-sectional survey/Methodological systematic review |
| First Author Country | Croatia |
| Aim | The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which Cochrane Plain Language Summaries are customized for lay persons, specifically by providing conclusive, comprehensible, and readable messages. |
| Level of Investigation | Descriptive |
| Summary of Findings | From 4360 Cochrane plain language summaries of interventional studies published from 1995 to 2019. Most of the plain language summaries (80%) did not have a conclusive message. In 53% plain language summaries there was no concluding opinion about the studied intervention or the conclusion was unclear. The most frequent conclusiveness category was “no opinion” (30%), and its frequency increased over time. The median number of years of non-specific education needed to read the plain language summaries was 14.9 (IQR 13.8 to 16.1), indicating that the person needs almost 15 years of general education to read the content with ease. |
| Number of systematic reviews included | 4360 |
| Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed | 4537 |
| Treatment impacted | No |
| Treatment impacted description | |
| Interpretation impacted | Not Applicable |
| Interpretation impacted description |