Reports from the spring conference in Barcelona: EMWA social events programme - Volume 27, Issue

We invited EMWA members to report on the medical device symposium and selected Expert Seminars during the spring conference in Barcelona, held in May 2018. We hope that this initiative will help to keep EMWA members up to date with our fast changing…

Protecting the rights of clinical trial patients through disclosure: The significance of plain language - Volume 27, Issue

Taking a step back to understand the history of clinical trial regulation triggers a broader perspective on the work we do or the work we will do. As regulatory medical writers, our role is often limited to the more technicalsubmission-level…

Promoting equity in understanding: A cross-organisational plain language glossary for clinical research - Volume 29, Issue

Clear communication with the public and with potential clinical trial participants and their caregivers is foundational to the ethical tenets of respect, justice, and beneficence. However, health literacy, even of highly educated individuals, often…

Plain language summaries of publications: What has COVID-19 taught us? - Volume 30, Issue

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the whole world, and the public has had to struggle with understanding scientific data on a daily basis. The impact of scientific misunderstanding became painfully apparent with the decline in vaccine…

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…

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

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…

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…

What do writers need to know about user testing? - Volume 24, Issue

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…