Making Narrative Statements to Describe Treatment Effects

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Evidence-Based Medicine
• Scientific Communication

Background:

• Communicating research findings, particularly treatment effects, in plain language is essential for end-users.
• Historically, a standardized framework for developing these narrative summaries has been lacking.
• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence-based Practice Center Program has developed guidance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explicitly identify the five core constructs for narrative summaries of treatment effects.
• To provide a structured approach for developing clear and accurate communication of research findings.
• To guide investigators in selecting the most relevant constructs based on context and audience.

Main Methods:

• Identification and articulation of five key constructs for narrative summaries.
• The constructs are: direction of effect, size of effect, clinical importance, statistical significance, and strength or certainty of evidence.
• Discussion of the overlap between constructs and the need for contextual selection.

Main Results:

• Five essential constructs for narrative treatment effect summaries have been defined.
• These constructs offer a systematic way to describe research outcomes.
• The framework acknowledges that not all constructs may be applicable in every situation.

Conclusions:

• A structured approach using five constructs aids in developing clear narrative statements of treatment effects.
• Investigators should judiciously select constructs based on audience and context for optimal communication.
• This guidance enhances the effective dissemination of research findings to end-users.