This is a summary of a 2015 Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Health Literacy workshop. The workshop explored ways to close the gap between what is required in the informed consent process and communicating it in a health-literate and meaningful manner to individuals. In addition, it looked at the implications of health literacy for informed consent for both human subjects research and patient care.
The event included presentations and discussions on the following topics:
- An overview of the ethical imperative to gain informed consent from patients and research participants
- A review of the current state and best practices for informed consent in research and treatment
- The connection between poor informed consent processes and minority underrepresentation in research
- New approaches to informed consent that reflect principles of health literacy
- The future of informed consent in treatment and research settings
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