Readability and Comprehensibility of Informed Consent Forms for Clinical Trials

The signed informed consent form provides documentary evidence that the patient has given informed consent to participate in a clinical trial and that the patient has been given the requisite information. However, this document must not only provide the necessary information, it must also be provided in a way that can be understood by the patient. Non conclusive information suggests that research participants frequently may not understand the information presented during the informed consent procedure. Comprehension requires that the patient be able to understand the information presented and have the time and opportunity to read, evaluate and consider the information presented. A shortened Informed Consent Form, with information that a reasonable person would want to understand along with specific information that the person wants in particular would be a good option to improve understanding or comprehensibility. Additional informational meetings with a qualified person like a counselor could help in comprehension. Questionnaires designed to test comprehension of patient, peer review, patient writing the salient features could help evaluate the comprehensibility of the Informed Consent Form.