Informed consent

Reality or illusion?

Carol J. Janik | Carnegie-Mellon University

Joyce Hannah Swaney | Carnegie-Mellon University

Sandra J. Bond | Carnegie-Mellon University

John R. Hayes | Carnegie-Mellon University

Examination of consent forms being used by major hospitals in Pittsburgh suggested that there was considerable room for improvement. Thus, the major goal of this study was to produce a better consent form. Our revision focused on three major areas of concern: (1) meeting the needs of the people who use consent forms; (2) deciding how explicit to make the information in the form; and (3) designing the form so that it will be used correctly. We then evaluated our revision using a number of techniques, including readability scores, tests of comprehension, and interviews. Our study suggests a number of points relevant to designing consent forms, as well as to document design in general.

Published online: 01 January 1981
https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.2.3-4.03jan

Cited by

Cited by other publications

Kirsch, Irwin S. & Peter B. Mosenthal

1988. UNDERSTANDING DOCUMENT LITERACY: VARIABLES UNDERLYING THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUNG ADULTS. ETS Research Report Series 1988:2 ► pp. i ff.

Mosenthal, Peter B. & Irwin S. Kirsch

1991. Toward an explanatory model of document literacy. Discourse Processes 14:2 ► pp. 147 ff.

Shaw, Linda R. & Vilia M. Tarvydas

2001. The Use of Professional Disclosure in Rehabilitation Counseling. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin 45:1 ► pp. 40 ff.

Sless, David

2017. From Semiotics to Choreography. Information Design Journal 23:2 ► pp. 173 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 december 2020. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.