Wikipedia:Making medical articles understandable
Health-related articles must be easy to read and understand for everyone. We are all affected by our health and we all have different reading levels. That is why we strive to write so as to reach as many readers as possible. Readers are of different ages and backgrounds, and many do not speak English as a first language. This page is meant to guide you towards writing for a wider audience.
As an encyclopaedia we will have a higher reading level than many patient information materials, but it is still important that we strive to be accessible. This guide is not meant to contradict WP:MEDMOS or WP:MOS, but to supplement it with practical suggestions and examples.
General tips edit
Target your reader edit
Depending on the article in question you will have to take into consideration what type of reader will come across it. Most medical articles will attract both weak and strong readers. Readers come to us for information on procedures or illnesses that have befallen them, and physicians or health professionals come to us to brush up on their knowledge. Comparing this with a more basic physiology topic such as the Frank–Starling law where we will have a more homogenous readership. We have a much harder task at our hands. The way we solve this is by treating the different parts of the article in separate ways.
The lede edit
The lede is supposed to read as simply as possible. This means we need to keep away from jargon, keep sentences short and not display too much statistics. We still need to convey the gist of what we're saying without losing clarity. Rules here are:
- Use the active tense
- Use the simplest words you can
- Ask yourself; will the use of this word help readers or will it simply confuse them? Does this distinction need to go in the lede or can I leave it to the body of the article?
- Use simple language to explain topics and link them to the proper term
- Write "the pill" while linking to "Combined oral contraceptive pill"
Body edit
To be expanded