Skip to main content

Table 1 Different concepts of ‘understanding’

From: An integrated conceptual framework for evaluating and improving ‘understanding’ in informed consent

Types of ‘understanding’

Description

Exemplary methods of assessment

Objective understanding

Correct knowledge of certain facts after having read IC documents

Knowledge or memory tests by means of (1) standardized questionnaires or interviews, or (2) by asking participants to rephrase facts in their own words

Subjective understanding

Subjective impression of having understood certain facts after reading IC documents

Open question, e.g., “Do you think you have understood the given information? If not, what were the text passages you find difficult to understand?”

General understandability

Personal impression of whether the given information is in principle easy to understand for others, e.g., members of the target group

Open question, e.g., “How easy do you think will it be for others to understand the given information?”