Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/open-access-25-removing-barriers-betwee...
Rabia asks "What can be done to make open access content more usable and understandable for frontline health workers who may not have research training?"
A few thoughts:
1. Open access content may refer to original peer-reviewed research (which is the primary focus of the current discussion) or to other forms of content (eg books, formularies, guidelines...).
2. By definition, open access content is more useful than closed-access content, because it can be accessed by anyone (with an internet connection) and it can be freely adapted, reused and reproduced.
3. The understandability of content is dependent on factors other than open/closed access. It depends on the communication skills of the original author(s), the editing skills of the editors, and the skills of peer reviewers. Editors and peer reviewers are responsible for ensuring that the content is clear and coherent (as well as many other checks). Many journals now have 'plain English summaries' as well as abstracts, or they provide a list of 'key points that this research adds to our understanding of the topic'.
4. The 'value added' of the editorial and peer review processes are important and likely to make the final version more usable and understandable than the original author's version.
5. Understandability is also dependent on language. HIFA has argued that the abstracts (at the very least) of all health research papers should be available in the language of the country/ies where they are most likely to be applied. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30384-X/fulltext
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org