Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Conditions
Brief summary
The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of infographics, compared to standard PLS format, in presenting information, in terms of understanding and remembering research results by consumers.
Detailed description
The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two different formats of the same systematic review summary (Infographics, PLS). The content of these two formats is based on the same systematic review, but the ways of data presentation will differ: visual presentation in plain language and plain language only. The interventions will be delivered online in November 2016, with members of the consumers' groups for pregnancy and parenting - RODA (Roditelji u akciji, engl.Parents in action), which gathers different types of consumers: pregnant women, young mothers and parenting and pregnancy advisors; and the members of the Association for Patients' Rights. The trial will be voluntary and anonymous. The survey will consist of 5 parts, in the following order: 1) one format of the summary (randomly assigned), 2) health numeracy, 3) demographic data 4) comprehension test of the information given in the summary, and 5) user friendliness of information and overall satisfaction with the given summary assessed by survey.
Interventions
OTHERInfographics
Cochrane started developing infographics, where short textual information about research is supported by visual representations of the main findings and is also aimed at the lay public The investigators will examine whether this format is better in information uptake than standard PLS.
OTHERPLS
Text format with simple explanation of the survey topic main findings and is intended for lay audience.
Sponsors
University of Liverpool
University Hospital of Split
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Eligible participants will be members of RODA and Association for Patients' Rights (women) .
Exclusion criteria
* Male members of RODA and Association for Patient's Rights
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding of the Summary Content | One month (30 days) | The questions will focus on understanding the benefits and risks of the intervention and the quality of evidence described in the systematic review. There will be 10 open ended questions, which will be assessed by two assessors, and the total score will be the sum of correct answers (total score ranging from 0-10). Higher scores would represent greater understanding of the content. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Experience | One month (30 days) | 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 5, maximum 50). Greater scores indicate more positive reading experience. |
| User Friendliness | One month (30 days) | 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 5, maximum 50). Higher scores indicate greater perception of the summary format as more user friendly. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Health Numeracy | One month (30 days) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Plain Language Summary The control group will receive PLS: text format with simple explanation of the survey topic main findings and is intended for lay audience.
PLS: Text format with simple explanation of the survey topic main findings and is intended for lay audience. | 54 |
| Infographics Infographics format of a Cochrane systematic review summary represents the experimental intervention in the trial, where the results are presented with text and pictures.
Infographics: Cochrane started developing infographics, where short textual information about research is supported by visual representations of the main findings and is also aimed at the lay public The investigators will examine whether this format is better in information uptake than standard PLS. | 45 |
| Total | 99 |
Withdrawals & dropouts
| Period | Reason | FG000 | FG001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Study | Withdrawal by Subject | 51 | 62 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Plain Language Summary | Infographics | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 39 years | 37 years | 38 years |
| Heard of Cochrane systematic reviews | 23 Participants | 25 Participants | 48 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Family Members | 4 Participants | 0 Participants | 4 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Family physician | 12 Participants | 5 Participants | 17 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Internet | 33 Participants | 33 Participants | 66 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Library | 2 Participants | 1 Participants | 3 Participants |
| Primary source of health information Other | 3 Participants | 6 Participants | 9 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 54 Participants | 45 Participants | 99 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Used Cochrane library | 12 Participants | 16 Participants | 28 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
Outcome results
Primary
Understanding of the Summary Content
The questions will focus on understanding the benefits and risks of the intervention and the quality of evidence described in the systematic review. There will be 10 open ended questions, which will be assessed by two assessors, and the total score will be the sum of correct answers (total score ranging from 0-10). Higher scores would represent greater understanding of the content.
Time frame: One month (30 days)
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEDIAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Plain Language Summary | Understanding of the Summary Content | 7.0 units on a scale |
| Infographics | Understanding of the Summary Content | 7.0 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 5, maximum 50). Greater scores indicate more positive reading experience.
Time frame: One month (30 days)
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEDIAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Plain Language Summary | Reading Experience | 22.5 units on a scale |
| Infographics | Reading Experience | 33.0 units on a scale |
Secondary
User Friendliness
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 5, maximum 50). Higher scores indicate greater perception of the summary format as more user friendly.
Time frame: One month (30 days)
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEDIAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Plain Language Summary | User Friendliness | 21.0 units on a scale |
| Infographics | User Friendliness | 30.0 units on a scale |
Other Pre-specified
Health Numeracy
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 month (30 days)
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEDIAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Plain Language Summary | Health Numeracy | 5.0 units on a scale |
| Infographics | Health Numeracy | 5.0 units on a scale |