A practical ‘How-To’ Guide to plain language summaries (PLS) of peer-reviewed scientific publications: results of a multi-stakeholder initiative utilizing co-creation methodology

Abstract

Plain English summary We wanted to create practical guidance for people who are interested in developing plain language summaries of publications (PLS for short). PLS are summaries of scientific research published in journals or presented at conferences and are written in language that is easy to read and understand. We focused on how to involve patients in developing PLS, as they are often an important audience for these summaries. We brought together a group of people who had experience in PLS and patient involvement. As a working group, we wrote the first version of the ‘How-To’ Guide. Then we asked for feedback from others experienced in patient involvement and also from members of the general public. We got feedback on how we could improve what was in the guidance and also on how useful and user-friendly the guidance was. We used this feedback to create the final version of the ‘How-To’ Guide which is freely available online from https://pemsuite.org/How-to-Guides/WG5.pdf .

Keywords

• Plain language summary
• Patient engagement
• Scientific publication