Prompt: Clinical Trial Plain-Language Explanation

Clinical Trial Plain-Language Explanation

Use this prompt to produce a supplementary plain-language document helping a patient understand what clinical trial participation involves. This document supports — but does not replace — the formal participant information sheet.

Write a plain-language explanation of what it means to take part in a 
clinical trial for a patient aged [[patient_age — e.g. "59"]] with 
[[cancer_type — e.g. "lung cancer"]].

The trial involves: [[trial_description — e.g. 
"a new targeted therapy given alongside standard treatment, with 
participants randomly assigned to receive either the new drug plus 
standard treatment, or standard treatment alone"]].

Cover:
- What a clinical trial is and why they are important
- What participation involves in practice (extra visits, additional 
  blood tests, more frequent monitoring)
- What randomisation means, in plain English
- That the patient cannot choose which group they are in
- The right to withdraw at any time without it affecting other aspects 
  of their care
- That the trial has ethical approval and that safety is monitored

Do not include the trial name, specific drug names, doses, or clinical 
predictions. Tone: calm, clear, and respectful. Maximum 400 words.

Why this works

Many patients struggle to understand the official participant information sheet because it is written for regulatory compliance rather than patient comprehension. This document gives them a readable summary to read first — so that by the time they read the formal sheet, the core concepts are already familiar.

How to tweak it

• To include a section on what happens to the data, add: "Include a brief paragraph explaining that the patient's anonymised data will be used for research purposes and what safeguards are in place."
• To simplify further for a patient with limited health literacy, add: "Use the simplest possible language. Short sentences. No medical terminology unless you define it immediately in plain English."

Remember: AI is a helpful assistant, not a clinician. You make the call.