Understanding Cochrane Systematic Reviews
Conditions
Keywords
Cochrane, Abstract, Infographics, Understanding
Brief summary
The objective of the investigators study is to evaluate the efficacy of infographics in presenting information, in terms of understanding and remembering research results, compared to standard PLS formats and scientific summary formats (SciSum).
Detailed description
The investigators will conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) with three different formats of the same systematic review summary (infographics, PLS and scientific summary). The content of these three formats is based on the same systematic review, but the ways of data presentation will differ: visual presentation, plain language, and scientific language. The trial will be performed at the beginning of the 2016/2017 academic year, with first year university students as participants. The trial will be voluntary and anonymous. The survey will consist of 4 parts: 1) demographic data, 2) one format of the summary (randomly assigned), 3) comprehension test of the information given in the summary, 4) accessibility of information and overall satisfaction with the given summary assessed by survey and 5) health numeracy test. All materials will be in Croatian. The materials used in this research will be assessed by experts in order to confirm face validity of developed questions.
Interventions
OTHERInfographic presentation of health information
The students in this group will read Cochrane systematic review summary in infographics format. Infographics format is a form of visual presentation of results of systematic review, supported by pictures and graphs.
OTHERPLS presentation of health information
The students randomized in PLS group will read text format with simple explanation of the survey topic main findings which is intended for lay audience.
OTHERScientific abstract presentation of health information
The students in scientific abstract group will read the the text written for the academic population and practitioners.
Sponsors
Croatian Science Foundation
University Hospital of Split
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Eligible participants will be first-year university students without experience with Cochrane review summaries, because prior familiarization with Cochrane summaries could make information uptake easier by those participants.
Exclusion criteria
* Participants who give the positive answer to the survey question about familiarity with the Cochrane will be excluded from the study analysis.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding | One-hour after the intervention | The primary outcome of the study is the score on a understanding test with ten questions about information contained in all three forms of presentation, titled as Understanding information about external cephalic version for breech presentation before term (Hutton et al, 2015). The questions will focus on understanding the benefits and risks of the intervention and the quality of evidence described in the systematic review. Each correctly answered question will be awarded one point, with a maximum of 10 points. The scale was specifically designed for this research, they ask about the information contained in all three abstract format and all questions are open-ended. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Experience | One hour after the intervention | This section of the survey will include 5 questions about the experience of participants about the text they read, measured on a 10-point Likert type scale, where 1 means do not agree at all and 10 means fully agree. The total score is the sum of scores on all five answers (minimum score was 10 and maximum 50). Higher scores indicate greater reading experience, which means that a person was assessed that type of reading material as more enjoyable. So, higher scores are associated with more positive reading experience. |
| Accessibility of Relevant Information | One hour after the intervention | This section of the survey will have 5 questions concerning how easy it was for the participant to find relevant information, measured by a 10-point Likert type scale where the answer 1 means I do not agree at all and 10 means I fully agree. The total score is the sum of scores on all the answers (minimum score was 5, maximum 50). The higher score indicated that the reading material was perceived as more user friendly and that it was easier to find the desired information. |
| Health Numeracy Score | One hour after the intervention | This section will use 6-item General health numeracy test (Osborne et al., 2013) in order to determine how much our participants understand the basic health instructions regarding numeracy dimension. For each correct answer, the participants receive one point and the total score is the sum of all correct answers. |
Countries
Croatia
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Infographics Infographic presentation of health information
Infographic presentation of health information: The students in this group will read Cochrane systematic review summary in infographics format.
Infographics format is a form of visual presentation of results of systematic review, supported by pictures and graphs. | 54 |
| Plain Language Summary PLS presentation of health information
PLS presentation of health information: The students randomized in PLS group will read text format with simple explanation of the survey topic main findings which is intended for lay audience. | 60 |
| Scientific Abstract Scientific abstract presentation of health information
Scientific abstract presentation of health information: The students in scientific abstract group will read the the text written for the academic population and practitioners. | 57 |
| Total | 171 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Infographics | Plain Language Summary | Scientific Abstract | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 19 years | 19 years | 19 years | 19 years |
| Heard of Cochrane systematic reviews | 5 Participants | 2 Participants | 2 Participants | 9 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Family Members | 15 Participants | 11 Participants | 15 Participants | 41 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Family physician | 11 Participants | 16 Participants | 11 Participants | 38 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Internet | 25 Participants | 31 Participants | 29 Participants | 85 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Library | 2 Participants | 2 Participants | 2 Participants | 6 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Other | 1 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 1 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 44 Participants | 48 Participants | 50 Participants | 142 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 10 Participants | 12 Participants | 7 Participants | 29 Participants |
| Used Cochrane library | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
Outcome results
Primary
Understanding
The primary outcome of the study is the score on a understanding test with ten questions about information contained in all three forms of presentation, titled as Understanding information about external cephalic version for breech presentation before term (Hutton et al, 2015). The questions will focus on understanding the benefits and risks of the intervention and the quality of evidence described in the systematic review. Each correctly answered question will be awarded one point, with a maximum of 10 points. The scale was specifically designed for this research, they ask about the information contained in all three abstract format and all questions are open-ended.
Time frame: One-hour after the intervention
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEDIAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Infographics | Understanding | 6.0 units on a scale |
| Plain Language Summary | Understanding | 6.0 units on a scale |
| Scientific Abstract | Understanding | 5.0 units on a scale |
Secondary
Accessibility of Relevant Information
This section of the survey will have 5 questions concerning how easy it was for the participant to find relevant information, measured by a 10-point Likert type scale where the answer 1 means I do not agree at all and 10 means I fully agree. The total score is the sum of scores on all the answers (minimum score was 5, maximum 50). The higher score indicated that the reading material was perceived as more user friendly and that it was easier to find the desired information.
Time frame: One hour after the intervention
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEDIAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Infographics | Accessibility of Relevant Information | 32.5 units on a scale |
| Plain Language Summary | Accessibility of Relevant Information | 32.5 units on a scale |
| Scientific Abstract | Accessibility of Relevant Information | 19.5 units on a scale |
Secondary
Health Numeracy Score
This section will use 6-item General health numeracy test (Osborne et al., 2013) in order to determine how much our participants understand the basic health instructions regarding numeracy dimension. For each correct answer, the participants receive one point and the total score is the sum of all correct answers.
Time frame: One hour after the intervention
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEDIAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Infographics | Health Numeracy Score | 2.0 units on a scale |
| Plain Language Summary | Health Numeracy Score | 2.0 units on a scale |
| Scientific Abstract | Health Numeracy Score | 3.0 units on a scale |
Secondary
Reading Experience
This section of the survey will include 5 questions about the experience of participants about the text they read, measured on a 10-point Likert type scale, where 1 means do not agree at all and 10 means fully agree. The total score is the sum of scores on all five answers (minimum score was 10 and maximum 50). Higher scores indicate greater reading experience, which means that a person was assessed that type of reading material as more enjoyable. So, higher scores are associated with more positive reading experience.
Time frame: One hour after the intervention
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEDIAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Infographics | Reading Experience | 31.0 units on a scale |
| Plain Language Summary | Reading Experience | 30 units on a scale |
| Scientific Abstract | Reading Experience | 16.0 units on a scale |