Default profile Karen Gainey
Needed 02 Mar 2025
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Consumer & Communication Strategies

Participants wanted! Are you an editor of a health or medical journal? Take part in our interview study on plain language summaries.

Skills / interests: Other

Methodological skills / interests: Co-production, Equity

I am PhD candidate with the Sydney Health Literacy Lab at The University of Sydney. My PhD focuses on the use of plain language summaries as a means of communicating health research to a general audience. I am conducting a qualitative research study exploring the perspectives of editors of health and medical journals about plain language summaries (PLSs ) and any barriers that might impact the way they are published. PLSs are short summaries of research articles written for a general audience, using plain, easy-to-understanding language. I am conducting semi structured interviews with editors of health and medical journals. Questions will cover aspects of the publication of PLSs such as the audience, author guidelines, the inclusion of PLSs in the peer review process and the future of PLSs.

Ideal applicant

I am looking for editors-in-chief and associate editors of health and medical journals, located either in Australia or internationally. I would like to hear about your experiences and perspectives on the publication of plain language summaries so I can better understand the factors that impact decisions relating to plain language summaries, as well as barriers and facilitators to their publication, implementation and dissemination. I use this term generically and acknowledge that some journals use the label “lay summary”, “patient summary” or similar. We define plain language summaries as summaries of research articles that are different to the abstract, written in plain, easy to understand language and aimed at a general audience. Even if your journal does not publish plain language summaries, your involvement will help me understand the factors behind this decision. Taking part in the study would involve an interview lasting approximately 60 minutes. Depending on your location and availability, I would conduct the interview in person or via video conference, depending on your location. To register your interest in the study, please contact Karen Gainey at karen.gainey@sydney.edu.au or register here https://sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7NUso2VZsZNZusK This study has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of The University of Sydney 2024/HE001170.
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