Plain Talk for Informed Consent

By Carolin Spice

 

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.” 

 

Yes, you are reading that right. It is Latin, or more so, nonsense Latin. This type of text is used as a placeholder in graphic design, publishing, and web development. For some patients, the informed consent documents we use are just as confusing and unintelligible as this Latin placeholder.

 

How do we inform patients, who are partners in their own care, about their treatments? How do we ensure they consent to the possible risk and benefits of these treatments? How can we practice informed consent when the documents we use are confusing?

 

Informed consent is part of the shared decision-making between the dental provider and their patients. It generally includes (De Bord, n.d.):

• The nature of the decision and procedure
• Reasonable alternatives to the proposed intervention
• The relevant risks, benefits, and uncertainties for each alternative
• Assessment of patient understanding
• The acceptance of the intervention by the patient

Shared decision-making allows patients to receive personalized information about their treatment options with the goal for them to make autonomous decisions. This practice improves patient knowledge around their care, outcomes, and satisfaction, and allows for a better understanding of risk (Ryan & Brandi, 2021).

 

One way to ensure shared decision-making is to use plain language in your informed consent documents. Plain language is accessible writing and is a key part of improving a person’s ability to understand and use health information. The Plain Language Movement started in 1972 when President Richard Nixon said that the “Federal Register be written in layman's terms." This led to the Plain Writing Act of 2010.

 

You can find plain language guidelines and a checklist on the Plain Language website. The plain language checklist includes:

 

·       writing for the average reader

·       organizing content to serve the reader’s needs

·       using “you” and other pronouns to speak to the reader

·       using active voice

·       using the simplest tense possible—simple present is best

·       using base verbs, not hidden verbs

·       omitting excess words

·       using concrete, familiar words