Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26147763›Full record

Trial reportBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2015

Improved informed consent documents for biomedical research do not increase patients' understanding but reduce enrolment: a study in real settings.

Adeline Paris, Béatrice Deygas, Catherine Cornu, Claire Thalamas, Patrick Maison, Christian Duale, Maty Kane, Enkelejda Hodaj, Jean-Luc Cracowski

Abstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Strategies to improve recruitment to randomised trials.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Comprehension of written texts for the assessment of clinical competence and decision making in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2020
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Broad consent for health care-embedded biobanking: understanding and reasons to donate in a large patient sample.Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics · 2018
    Article
  12. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Adeline ParisInserm CIC1406, Centre d'Investigation Clinique de Grenoble, Grenoble Cedex 9, F-38043.
Béatrice DeygasInserm CIC1408, Centre d'Investigation Clinique de Saint-Etienne, Saint Priest En Jarez, F-42270.
Catherine CornuCentre d'Investigation Clinique de Lyon, Inserm CIC1407, Bron, F-69677.
Claire ThalamasInserm CIC 1436 Toulouse, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse.
Patrick MaisonHôpital Henri MONDOR, Unité de Recherche Clinique, Creteil, F-94010.
Christian DualeInserm CIC1405, Centre de pharmacologie Clinique, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, F-63003, France.
Maty KaneInserm CIC1406, Centre d'Investigation Clinique de Grenoble, Grenoble Cedex 9, F-38043.
Enkelejda HodajInserm CIC1406, Centre d'Investigation Clinique de Grenoble, Grenoble Cedex 9, F-38043.
Jean-Luc CracowskiInserm CIC1406, Centre d'Investigation Clinique de Grenoble, Grenoble Cedex 9, F-38043.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsThe aim was to evaluate the comprehension of participants of an improved informed consent document (ICD).

methodThis was a randomized controlled French multicentre study performed in real conditions. Participants were adult patients undergoing screening for enrolment in biomedical research studies, who agreed to answer a validated questionnaire evaluating objective and subjective comprehension scored from 0 (no comprehension) to 100 (excellent comprehension). Patients were provided either the original ICD or an ICD modified in terms of structure and readability. The primary end point was the score of objective comprehension. The secondary end-points were the enrolment rate in the clinical study and patient characteristics associated with the score of objective comprehension.

resultsFour hundred and eighty-one patients were included, 241 patients in the original ICD group and 240 patients in the modified ICD group. There was no difference between the two groups for the score of objective comprehension (original ICD 72.7 (95% CI 71.3, 74.1) vs. modified ICD 72.5 (95% CI 71.0, 74.0); P = 0.81). However, the rate of enrolment in the clinical study was lower in the group who received the modified ICD (64.4% (95% CI 58.3, 70.5)) than for the original ICD (73.0% (95% CI 67.4, 78.7)) (P = 0.042). Only female gender and high educational level were associated with a better objective comprehension.

conclusionsImproving ICDs had no effect on participants' understanding, whereas the rate of enrolment was lower in this group. In attempts at improving potential participants' understanding of clinical research information, efforts and future trials should focus on other ways to improve comprehension.

Indexed as

ComprehensionBiomedical ResearchConsent FormsFemaleHumansInformed ConsentMaleMiddle AgedPatient SelectionResearch Subjectsbiomedical researchcomprehensioninformed consentquestionnaire

Identifiers

PMID26147763
PMCPMC4631174

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.