Plain Language Summaries of Research Studies (HLOL #216)

Maureen Maurer brings a strong background in health behavior and health education. Her work focuses on engaging patients, families, and community members in health research, health care delivery, and health policy. Maurer, a principal researcher at the American Institutes for Research, directs a research support project for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) called the PCOR Translation Center. This center supports PCORI’s commitment to ensuring that research findings are comprehensible and useful to patients, clinicians, and others making healthcare decisions.

In this podcast, Maureen Maurer talks with Helen Osborne about:

• Plain language summaries of research studies: What they are, who they are for, how they help.
• Examples and lessons learned from writing 300+ plain language summaries. These include using a conversational tone, organizing information in a logical way, balancing the needs of scientists and readers, getting feedback from the intended audience.
• A look ahead to how plain language summaries can help move toward more equitable and inclusive approach to science and health information.

More ways to learn:

• Maurer M, Siegel JE, Firminger KB, Lowers J, Dutta T, Chang JS. (2021). “Lessons Learned from Developing Plain Language Summaries of Research Studies,” HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice.
• PCORI’s Portfolio of Funded Projects. Includes links to plain language studies along with professional abstracts.
• For more information, email Maureen Maurer at [email protected]

Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Second Edition (updated 2018), by Helen Osborne. The chapter about plain language is especially relevant to this podcast.

Disclaimer: The views in this podcast do not necessarily represent the views of the Patient- Centered Outcomes Research Institute, its Board of Governors, or its Methodology Committee. Under contract to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Translation Center is managed by the American Institutes for Research.

Read the transcript of this podcast

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