Plain language summaries provided to participants at the end of a study provide information in easy-to-understand language and help participants learn how they contributed to new knowledge. In a study on patients’ attitudes and preferences about clinical trial participation, Sood et al. found that 91% of patients wanted to be informed of research findings, and 68% said they would not participate in future trials if not informed. In fact, some countries have regulations requiring plain language summaries be made available.
of participants wanted to know trial results*
would not participate in future trials if not informed of trial results*
*Sood et al. 2009. Mayo Clinic Proceedings.84(3): 243-247
Clinical Trials Ontario and Clinical Trials BC have developed a template with helpful instructions and suggested wording which is intended to be “plug and play” and easily branded by your organization.
Toolkit for lay summary of early phase dose-finding clinical trial results provides context and a template for writing a lay summary of results of an early phase dose-finding clinical trial and was developed as part of the DEFINE (Dose-Finding Extensions) study, a trial methodology research project
Note: This resource list is not exhaustive and listing a resource does not denote its endorsement or promotion.
CommuniKIDS, a freely accessible template, takes its inspiration from CTO’s Plain Language Results Summary template, and was developed to support researchers in sharing pediatric clinical trial results back to participating youth and/or their families.
The editable CommuniKIDS template comes with instructions in the template and a separate “tip sheet” which provides additional guidance on how to use the template. We have also compiled completed examples of the CommuniKIDS template and resources that may be beneficial to you (see the tabs below).
Our project team consisted of a diverse group of pediatric researchers, healthcare professionals, and patient/public engagement partners that worked directly with Canadian youth and parents through virtual workshops to adapt the CTO template to meet the needs of sharing pediatric research results to youth and their families. To learn more about how CommuniKIDS was developed watch the video below.
The development of CommuniKIDS was funded by a knowledge translation grant from the CHILD-BRIGHT Network to Dr. Nancy Butcher in partnership and supported by Clinical Trials Ontario, the INFORM-RARE Network, and the EnRICH Research Group (The Hospital for Sick Children). For more information about this project and how CommuniKIDS was developed, read Youth & Family Involvement in the Development of a Plain Language Trial Results Communication Tool: CommuniKIDS.
The template is intended to be “plug and play” and can be easily branded by your organization.
A populated CommuniKIDS template that was created by the CommuniKIDS team and developed with permission of the study team.
Note: This resource list is not exhaustive and listing a resource does not denote its endorsement or promotion.
