Special section: Winners of the Geoff Hall Scholarship essay competition - Volume 24, Issue

The Geoff Hall Scholarships (GHSs) are given in honour of a former President of EMWA. Geoff was a very special person, an extremely valued member of EMWA, and a very good friend to many EMWA members. He firmly believed that the future of EMWA lies in…

Publisher perspectives on plain language summaries of scientific publications: An Open Pharma survey - Volume 33, Issue

Plain language summaries (PLS) of scientific publications can help to make scientific literature more understandable. In healthcare, PLS can contribute to informed decision- making by healthcare professionals, patients, and their caregivers. In late …

A case study from Pakistan: Improving medical publications in non-English speaking countries - Volume 33, Issue

Copyediting is crucial for enhancing the quality and credibility of medical manuscripts in Pakistan. Although English is an official language used in government and education, many researchers are not native speakers, leading to linguistic inaccuraci…

Out on Our Own - Volume 30, Issue

We have finally reached an era where talking about our mental health is no longer a taboo, it’s just taken a pandemic for us to do so! Life has dramatically changed in the last 18 months and mental stressors are even more apparent

Medical writers moving the needle on patient-centred communication and engagement - Volume 34, Issue

Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in clinical trial design, conduct, and reporting provides an opportunity for patients and members of the public to provide input on what is important to them. This supports patient-centric trial…

Presenting secondary endpoints in plain language clinical trial result summaries: Considerations for emerging practice - Volume 30, Issue

Background: The European Union Clinical Trials Regulation 536/2014 (EU CTR) requires sponsors to submit summaries of clinical trial results in plain/lay language (Plain Language Trial Summaries [PLTS]). A multidisciplinary working group developed…

How can we maximise patient engagement with Plain Language Summary of Publication articles (PLSPs)? A publisher’s perspective - Volume 33, Issue

Plain Language Summary of Publication articles (PLSPs) are aimed at non-specialist audiences, using non-technical/jargon-free and easy to understand language to provide summaries of publications. The introduction of PLSPs has added to the growing…

Plain language summaries of clinical trial results: What is their role, and should patients and AI be involved? - Volume 33, Issue

Plain language summaries (PLSs) of clinical trial results are vital tools in the clinical development process for enhancing transparency and encouraging and facilitating patient engagement. The production of a PLS is now mandated in the EU for all…

Writing in plain language for the Summary of Safety and Clinical Performance: Communicating medical device safety and performance data to patients - Volume 34, Issue

Effective communication with patients is paramount in the medical field, particularly in the medical device sector, where the complexity of information can create barriers to understanding. The Summary of Safety and Clinical Performance (SSCP) has…

Passing the torch - Volume 21, Issue

This issue is the first where I will be serving as Editor-in-Chief of Medical Writing (MEW). Elise Langdon-Neuner, Editor-in-Chief since 2004, will be stepping down. This is yet another step in the evolution of the journal.

For those of you unfamili…