Jargon and Readability in Plain Language Summaries of Health Research: Cross-Sectional Observational Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The idea of making science more accessible to nonscientists has prompted health researchers to involve patients and the public more actively in their research. This sometimes involves writing a plain language summary (PLS), a short summary intended to make research findings accessible to nonspecialists. However, whether PLSs satisfy the basic requirements of accessible language is unclear.

Objective

We aimed to assess the readability and level of jargon in the PLSs of research funded by the largest national clinical research funder in Europe, the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). We also aimed to assess whether readability and jargon were influenced by internal and external characteristics of research projects.

Methods

SUBMITTER: Lang IA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11773280 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature