Medical Writing Writing for Lay Audiences What do writers need to know about user testing?
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Volume 24, Issue 4 - Writing for Lay Audiences

What do writers need to know about user testing?

Authors: DK Theo Raynor, Kirstin Blackwell, Wayne Middleton

Abstract

Increasing amounts of information are being made available to patients – but how do we know if we are getting it right and meeting people's needs? In this article, we describe how we have employed user testing to test and improve not just information for patients, but also for professionals and others. This is built on the many years of using this technique, first at the University of Leeds and then through the spin-out company Luto Research (http://www.luto.co.uk).

Keywords: User testing, Information for patients, Health Literacy, Package leaflets, Risk management plans, Clinical trial lay summary
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References

  1. Raynor DK, Dickinson D. Key principles to guide consumer medicine information–content analysis of information design texts. Ann Pharmacother. 2009;43(4):700–6.
  2. Raynor DK. User testing in developing patient medication information in Europe. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2013;9(5):640–5.
  3. Sless D, Shrensky R. Writing about medicines for people. Sydney: Australian Self Medication Industry; 2006.
  4. Sless D. Designing public documents. Info Design J. 2004;12(1):24–35.
  5. Raynor DK. Health literacy – Is it time to shift our focus from patient to provider? BMJ. 2012;344:e2188.
  6. Raynor DK, De Veene P, Bryant D. The effectiveness of the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) and recommendations for improvement. Ther Innov Regul Sci. 2014;48:255–65.
  7. Knapp P, Raynor DK, Silcock J, Parkinson B. Can user testing of a clinical trial patient information sheet make it fit-for-purpose? A randomized controlled trial. BMC Med. 2011;9:89.
  8. Raynor DK, Bryant D. European Public Assessment Report (EPAR) summaries for the public: are they fit for purpose? A user-testing study. BMJ Open. 2013;3(9):e003185.

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