Medical Writing Writing for Lay Audiences Gained in Translation

Volume 24, Issue 4 - Writing for Lay Audiences

Gained in Translation

Editorial

Welcome to the Translation Section editorial!

What we call ‘lay-friendliness’ is a key characteristic of Patient Information Sheets (PIS), which are tightly regulated on a European level to guarantee a comprehensible document that contains usable information for patients. It is clear that we, as translators, need to make an effort to improve language access as a means of empowering patients in decision-making about their own care. Strategies to support patients play an important role in understanding the causes of illness, protecting their health, and taking appropriate action. Yet, professional translators often primarily focus on the faithfulness of the translation to the original document rather than on the comprehensibility of the translated version, forgetting that often messages that work well with one language-speaking audience may not work for audiences who speak another language.

In the following article, Lorenzo Gallego Borghini gives an overview of lay-friendliness of PIS translations in Spain. Enjoy the article!

Laura C. Collada Ali

laura.collada@ontranslation.it

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References

  1. Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS). 2013 Memoria de actividades. Madrid: Imprenta Nacional de la AEBOE; 2014.
  2. Real Decreto 223/2004, de 6 de febrero, por el que se regulan los ensayos clínicos con medicamentos. Madrid: Boletín Oficial del Estado; 2004.
  3. Ordovás Baines JP, et al. Analysis of the written patient information forms to obtain informed consent in clinical trials. Med Clin (Barc). 1999;112:90–94.
  4. Galende Domínguez I. Listas guía para la evaluación de protocolos de investigación clínica. In: Galende Domínguez I (coord.). Guías operativas para los CEI-II: Evaluación de protocolos de investigación biomédica. Madrid: Fundación AstraZeneca; 2007.
  5. Gálvez Múgica MA, De Pablo López de Abechuco I. Evaluation process of a clinical trial from the EC's point of view. Rev Clin Esp. 2007;207(1):29–33.
  6. López Parra M, Moreno Quiroga C, Lechuga Pérez J. A review of the most frequent objections made to patient information sheets of clinical trials. Medicina Clínica (Barcelona). 2012;139(4):176–179.
  7. Bhutta ZA. Beyond informed consent. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2004;82(10).
  8. Gallego Borghini L. Analysis of the objections raised by ethics committees in Spain to the translations of clinical research patient information sheets and informed consent forms: Implications for translators. Revista de Bioética y Derecho 2015;33(1):14–27.
  9. López Ciruelos A. El mito de la brevedad del inglés. Panace@ 2002;3(9–10):90–95.
  10. Ley Orgánica 15/1999, de 13 de diciembre, de Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal. Madrid: Boletín Oficial del Estado; 1999.
  11. Mayoral Asensio R. A guide to translating vital records (birth and death certificates) from English to Spanish. Panace@ 2012;13(36):202–228.
  12. Borja Albi A. An approach to medico-legal translation. Panace@ 2012;13(36):167–175.
  13. Centro Coordinador de CEIC, Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad. Hoja de información al paciente. Available from: http://www.msssi.gob.es/profesionales/farmacia/ceic/pdf/hojaInfoPaciente.pdf

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Articles

Writing for lay audiences
President's Message
Writing for lay audiences: A challenge for scientists
Patient education accessibility
Legislation and the lay audience: Challenges of communicating benefit and risk in the light of new regulations
Medical writing for two audiences – The RMP public summary
Layperson summaries of clinical trial results: Useful resources in the vacuum of regulatory guidance
Package leaflets for medication in the EU: The possibility of integrating patients’ perspectives in a regulated genre?
What do writers need to know about user testing?
Medical journalism: Another way to write about science
Elements of storytelling in medical journalism
A stroll through the medical blogosphere
Writing narrative style literature reviews
News from the EMA
Profile: An interview with Laura Carolina Collada Ali: On the peculiarities of working for independent research organisations
The Webscout
In the Bookstores
Regulatory Writing
Lingua Franca and Beyond
Gained in Translation
English Grammar and Style
Out On Our Own

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Editoral Board

Editor-in-Chief

Raquel Billiones

Co-Editors

Evguenia Alechine

Jonathan Pitt

Managing Editor

Victoria White

Associate Editors

Anuradha Alahari

Jennifer Bell

Nicole Bezuidenhout

Claire Chang

Barbara Grossman

Sarah Milner

John Plant

Sampoorna Rappaz

Amy Whereat

Section Editors

Daniela Kamir

AI/Automation

Jennifer Bell

Biotechnology

Nicole Bezuidenhout 

Digital Communication

Somsuvro Basu

EMWA News 

Ana Sofia Correia 

Gained in Translation

Ivana Turek

Getting Your Foot in the Door

Wendy Kingdom / Amy Whereat

Good Writing Practice

Alison McIntosh 

In the Bookstores

Maria Kołtowska-Häggström

Lingua Franca and Beyond

Maddy Dyer

Publications

Lisa Chamberlain-James

Medical Communications/Writing for Patients

Payal Bhatia

Medical Devices

Evguenia Alechine

My First Medical Writing

Anuradha Alahari

News from the EMA

Adriana Rocha

Freelancing

Tiziana von Bruchhausen

Pharmacovigilance

Clare ChangZuo Yen Lee 

Regulatory Matters

Sam Hamilton

Regulatory Public Disclosure

Claire Gudex

Teaching Medical Writing

Louisa Ludwig-Begall / Sarah Kabani

The Crofter: Sustainable Communications

Louisa Marcombes

Veterinary Writing

Editors Emeritus

Elise Langdon-Neuner

Phil Leventhal

Layout Designer

Chris Monk