A summary to communicate evidence from systematic reviews to the public improved understanding and accessibility of information: a randomized controlled trial

SANTESSO N,; RADER T,; NILSEN ES,; GLENTON C, ; ROSENBAUM S,; CIAPPONI A

ELSEVIER SCIENCE B. V.

ELSEVIER

Año: 2014

Study Design and Setting: We conducted a randomized controlled trial in 143 members of the public from five countries (Canada,Norway, Spain, Argentina, and Italy). Participants received either a new summary format (a plain language summary [PLS]) or the currentformat used in Cochrane systematic reviews. The new PLS presents information about the condition and intervention, a narrative summaryof results, and a table of results with absolute numbers for effects of the intervention and quality of the evidence using Grading of RecommendationsAssessment, Development, and Evaluation.Results: With the new PLS, more participants understood the benefits and harms and quality of evidence (53% vs. 18%, P ! 0.001);more answered each of the five questions correctly (P 0.001 for four questions); and they answered more questions correctly, median 3(interquartile range [IQR]: 1e4) vs. 1 (IQR: 0e1), P ! 0.001). Better understanding was independent of education level. More participantsfound information in the new PLS reliable, easy to find, easy to understand, and presented in a way that helped make decisions. Overall,participants preferred the new PLS.