Medical Illustration Design Characteristic Evaluation

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Healthy

• Registration Number: NCT06435806
• Lead Sponsor: Northeastern University

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to understand what people understand from medical illustrations, and what meaning and emotions (such as anxiety) they derive from different design elements.

Detailed Description

The investigators will conduct cognitive interviews to understand the meaning laypersons obtain from different illustrations, their opinions on illustration styles, and their level of anxiety after viewing illustrations.

The investigators will also study the effect of systematically varying medical illustration designs on layperson understanding and anxiety.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2024-03-25
• Study First Submitted: 2024-05-21
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-05-24
• Study First Posted: 2024-05-30
• Status Verified: 2025-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-07-30
• Last Update Posted: 2025-08-03
• Primary Completion: 2026-09-01
• Study Completion: 2027-01-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 8200

Inclusion Criteria

• Over 18 years old
• Speaks English or Spanish fluently
• Is able to independently consent
• Has adequate corrected vision to read patient education documents

Exclusion Criteria

* None

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Knowledge	Baseline and 30 minutes	A multiple-item knowledge test designed to test comprehension of the patient education document
State Anxiety scale from State-Trait Anxiety Inventory	30 minutes	Self-report state anxiety scale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. 20 items, 4-point Likert scale. A higher score indicates more severe anxiety with a potential range from 20 to 80.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Reading Effort	30 minutes	Likert items to assess perceived effort in reading a document and illustration
Satisfaction with the medical illustration	30 minutes	Likert items to assess satisfaction with the document and illustration
Acceptability	30 minutes	Likert items to assess acceptability and appropriateness of the illustration

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Tufts Medical Center; 🇺🇸 Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Northeastern University; 🇺🇸 Boston, Massachusetts, United States