Flávia A Carvalho1, Mark R Elkins2, Márcia R Franco3, Rafael Z Pinto4. 1. Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sao Paulo State University, Presidente Prudente, Brazil. Electronic address: fla.acarvalho@hotmail.com. 2. Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Evidence-Based Physiotherapy, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: mark.elkins@sydney.edu.au. 3. Department of Physical Therapy, Centro Universitário UNA, Contagem, Brazil. Electronic address: marciarfranco@gmail.com. 4. Department of Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Electronic address: rafaelzp@ufmg.br.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A plain-language summary is a short and clearly stated version of a study's results using non-scientific vocabulary that provide many advantages for patients and clinicians in the process of shared decision-making. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to investigate the extent to which published reports of physiotherapy interventions provide plain-language summaries. We investigate as the secondary objectives if the available plain-language summaries are at a suitable reading level for a lay person and if inclusion of plain-language summaries in these reports is increasing over time and is associated with trial quality (i.e. PEDro score). DATA SOURCES: All 4421 randomised controlled trials (RCT), systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines that included plain-language summaries indexed on Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of published reports with plain-language summaries, Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). RESULTS: The number of published reports with a plain-language summary doubled in the last 6 years. From a total of 34,444 reports indexed on PEDro, only 4421 reports had English plain-language summaries. RCTs with plain-language summaries had higher PEDro scores than RCTs without plain-language summaries (mean difference=0.8 points, 95%CI 0.7 to 0.8). Only 2% of reports were considered at a suitable reading level by the FKGL formula and 0.1% by the FRES formula. CONCLUSIONS: Although the publication of plain-language summaries is increasing over time, the current number corresponds to only 13% of all published reports. In addition the majority of plain-language summaries are written at an advanced reading level.
BACKGROUND: A plain-language summary is a short and clearly stated version of a study's results using non-scientific vocabulary that provide many advantages for patients and clinicians in the process of shared decision-making. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to investigate the extent to which published reports of physiotherapy interventions provide plain-language summaries. We investigate as the secondary objectives if the available plain-language summaries are at a suitable reading level for a lay person and if inclusion of plain-language summaries in these reports is increasing over time and is associated with trial quality (i.e. PEDro score). DATA SOURCES: All 4421 randomised controlled trials (RCT), systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines that included plain-language summaries indexed on Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of published reports with plain-language summaries, Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). RESULTS: The number of published reports with a plain-language summary doubled in the last 6 years. From a total of 34,444 reports indexed on PEDro, only 4421 reports had English plain-language summaries. RCTs with plain-language summaries had higher PEDro scores than RCTs without plain-language summaries (mean difference=0.8 points, 95%CI 0.7 to 0.8). Only 2% of reports were considered at a suitable reading level by the FKGL formula and 0.1% by the FRES formula. CONCLUSIONS: Although the publication of plain-language summaries is increasing over time, the current number corresponds to only 13% of all published reports. In addition the majority of plain-language summaries are written at an advanced reading level.
Authors: Aleksandra Banić; Mahir Fidahić; Jelena Šuto; Rea Roje; Ivana Vuka; Livia Puljak; Ivan Buljan Journal: BMC Med Res Methodol Date: 2022-09-10 Impact factor: 4.612