Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37759419›Full record

ArticleJournal of veterinary internal medicine

Evaluating the readability of recruitment materials in veterinary clinical research.

Charly McKenna, Mindy Quigley, Tracy L Webb

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of veterinary internal medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. 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

3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Charly McKennaOntario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Mindy QuigleyVirginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.
Tracy L WebbDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4547-3787
Colorado State University · USUniversity of Guelph · CAVirginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine · US

Funding

Koster Endowment
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOwner comprehension is vital to recruitment and study success, but limited information exists regarding the readability of public-facing veterinary clinical trial descriptions.

objectivesThe current study sought to evaluate the readability of public-facing online veterinary clinical trial descriptions from academic institutions and private referral practices. ANIMALS: None.

methodsThis prospective study assessed readability in a convenience sample of veterinary clinical trial study descriptions using 3 common methods: the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (F-K), Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), and online Automatic Readability Checker (ARC). Results were compared across specialties and between academic and private institutions.

resultsGrade level and readability consensus scores (RCSs) were obtained for 61 online clinical trial descriptions at universities (n = 49) and private practices (n = 12). Average grade-level RCS for study descriptions was 14.13 (range, 9-21). Using Microsoft Word, the FRES score was higher in descriptions from universities compared to private practices (P = .03), and F-K scores were lower in university compared to private practice descriptions (P = .03). FRES (P = .07), F-K (P = .12), and readability consensus (P = .17) scores obtained from ARC were not different between institution types. Forty-eight studies (79%) had RCSs over 12, equivalent to reading material at college or graduate school levels. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Similar to other areas in veterinary communication, the evaluated veterinary clinical trial descriptions used for advertising and recruitment far exceeded the recommended 6th-grade reading level for medical information. Readability assessments are straightforward to conduct, and ensuring health literacy should be a customary best practice in veterinary medicine and clinical research.

Indexed as

CommunicationComprehensionAnimalsConsensusHeadProspective Studiesclient-owned animalclinical trialscompanion animalFlesch-Kincaid Grade LevelFlesch Reading Ease Score

Identifiers

PMID37759419
PMCPMC10658532
OpenAlexW4387116134

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.