From: Cochrane plain language summaries are highly heterogeneous with low adherence to the standards
 | PLEACS items | N (%) of PLS adhering to the PLEACS itema |
---|---|---|
1 | Title of systematic review restated in plain language | 1105 (64) |
2 | Number of PLSs within recommended word count (400-700) | 404 (23) |
3 | Technical terms and jargon absent | 748 (43) |
4 | PLS structured | 626 (36) |
5 | If structured, subtitles as recommended | 217 (35) |
6 | If not structured as recommended, how many of the 5 recommended subtitles are missing? | 1 missing: 141 (34) |
2 missing: 90 (22) | ||
3 missing: 47 (10) | ||
4 missing: 40 (10) | ||
5 missing: 94 (23) | ||
7 | Search date indicated | Month and year: 992 (57) |
Year only: 20 (11) | ||
8 | Details of search strategy absent | 1718 (99) |
9 | Population details provided | 236 (15) |
10 | Number of studies indicated | 1429 (91) |
11 | Number of participants indicated | 1201 (77) |
12 | Complex statistical data absent | 1527 (98) |
13 | Quality of the studies addressed | 875 (56) |
14 | GRADE system mentioned | 11 (0.7) |