Writing for lay audiences: A challenge for scientists - Volume 24, Issue

Writing for lay audiences, especially lay summaries, is needed to increase health and science literacy, but this kind of writing can be difficult for scientists. The article describes why it can be so difficult and gives some advice on how…

Legislation and the lay audience: Challenges of communicating benefit and risk in the light of new regulations - Volume 24, Issue

There is a paradigm shift in the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies towards transparency and an emphasis on the benefit-risk ratio of medicines. The recent changes in legislation surrounding clinical documentation have produced…

Medical writing for two audiences – The RMP public summary - Volume 24, Issue

With the introduction of the new EU Legislation in 2012, RMP requirements have changed significantly, triggering content- and process-related changes. An RMP is written as part of a submission dossier and is submitted for assessment to the EMA. The…

Writing for lay audiences - Volume 24, Issue

For most of us, medical writing is highly technical. We prepare regulatory or clinical documents or write materials targeted to medical doctors. Medical writing for lay audiences is different, and it does not come naturally to most of us because…

Three strategies to help you write clearly for a lay audience - Volume 26, Issue

When writing health and medical content for a lay audience, it is important to think beyond simply writing well. Defining your ideal readers, reducing medical jargon, and producing a well-formatted piece of work  can all enhance your reader’s…

Writing lay summaries: What medical writers need to know - Volume 27, Issue

Lay summaries are critical for building publictrust in clinical research and therefore forrecruiting patients. They are also an importantpart of efforts to improve data transparency.Due to new global regulations, lay summarieswill soon probably…

Lay writing: Strategies for improving assent forms - Volume 27, Issue

Writing for lay audiences is recognised as a  difficult task for medical writers, whose  specialised knowledge can often hinder  effective lay communication. This task is even  more challenging when preparing clinical trial  information for a…

Lay summaries and writing for patients: Where are we now and where are we going? - Volume 28, Issue

We examine the trend for increasing and more transparent patient information and ask how close we have come in the last few years to producing useful and meaningful information for patients. We also outline the challenges faced by medical writers…

A stroll through the medical blogosphere - Volume 24, Issue

Medical blogs are a very popular way of communicating health-related information. They can be written by medical professionals or laypeople, and topics include diseases, procedures, health policies, and personal topics such as everyday experiences.…

Writing for Lay Audiences - Volume 24, Issue