Readability of Informed Consent Forms From Phase III COVID-19 Vaccine Trials in the US
Dr. Gregory Poland, a Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Director of the Vaccine Research Group at Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, MN, discusses his article appearing in the August 2021 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, where using several standardized reading-level measures, he found that participant informed consent forms were too long, used high-level language skills, small font-sizes, and no images, making it unlikely that the average American could fully read and understand what was contained in the consent documents. Dr. Poland offers suggestions for improving these challenges and directs that these changes are a must if research participants are to truly be able to give informed consent for participation. Available at: https://mayocl.in/3pW9Qo5